The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
by K5Rakitan
Summary: There is no single right way to find love or dominate the world. However, some methods work better than others under certain circumstances. Silentshipping - Seto x Serenity, Joey x Mai, Yugi x Ishizu, Tea x ?, Tristan x ?
1. Breaking Up

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the songs that have inspired my writing. I do own a few OCs. The corporations mentioned in this story are all fictional (I hope). "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" is the title of a song written by David Rovics. He believes in the creative commons, so I'm sure he does not mind me using his song as inspiration.

**Author's Note:** This is the prequel to my other stories, so if this is the first story of mine that you have ever read, please do not peek at my other stories because there will be major spoilers! For those of you who are already familiar with my stories, I hope that you also find this one enjoyable, and please do not put any spoilers in the reviews. Thank You!

**Music Lover's Alert:** If you like to listen to music while you read, I recommend "Typical" by Mutemath as background music for this chapter.

**Chapter 1 Breaking Up**

Joey, Yugi, Tristan, and Serenity were all sitting around a table waiting for their order at Burger World. They were all dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts, which they had been stocking up on for the days when they would no longer need to wear their school uniforms. Serenity sat next to Tristan, holding hands with him under the table. Ever since the conclusion of the Battle City Tournament, Serenity and Tristan had slowly formed a relationship under the watchful eye of Joey, who wanted to make sure that nobody took advantage of his sister. Although Joey occasionally allowed his sister to go out with Tristan unsupervised, most of their dates, like this one, were chaperoned.

"So, graduation is coming up soon. Are you guys excited?" Serenity asked. Her soft green eyes glowed with happiness as she gave Tristan's hand a little squeeze.

"You bet!" Yugi replied enthusiastically, "I got a full scholarship to Cairo University. They really liked my entrance essay on Atem, and they want me to study Ancient Egyptian history! Maybe they'll even let me dig up the millennium items again." His spiky blond bangs bounced around his face as he spoke.

"That's wonderful, Yugi! Of course, you'll have to write to us every day while you're over there," Joey said.

"I'm not sure I'll have the time, Joey. It's a very rigorous program. How about once a week?" Yugi suggested.

"Twice a week, and no less," Joey insisted.

"OK! You've got a deal." Joey and Yugi shook hands. "What about you, Joey? What are you doing after you graduate?" Yugi asked.

"My grades weren't quite good enough for Tokyo University, so I'm going to stick around here and work. Perhaps I'll enter a few Duel Monsters tournaments and travel a bit on weekends to win some extra cash. After all, I've gotta watch out for my sister!" Joey replied.

Tea brought their order to the table. Her Burger World uniform clung tight around her bulging chest, but she had decided not to buy a new one because she would be quitting in just a few months. "Hey Tea! Is there any chance you could join us?" Serenity asked.

"Not right now. I'll meet up with you guys after, OK?"

"OK!" Serenity chirped. Serenity loved talking with Tea because she was always so wise and full of insight. Serenity watched her with admiration as she set down a burger and milkshake in front of each one of her friends, then twirled around gracefully to attend to her other customers. Her short brown hair whipped around her face as she turned.

Joey and Tristan immediately stuffed their mouths full of food while Yugi and Serenity ate more delicately. "Hey, did you guys hear about Bakura?" Yugi asked.

"No, what about Bakura?" Serenity asked.

"His uncle gave him fifty one shares of International Enterprises for his eighteenth birthday. He's now the CEO!"

Tristan choked on his burger, and Serenity quickly moved to aid him. She yanked him out of the booth and into a standing position. Then, she got behind him and executed a Heimlich maneuver. A giant piece of half-chewed beef flew out of Tristan's mouth and landed in Yugi's milkshake.

Joey stared at his sister with his brown eyes wide open. "When did you learn to do that?"

"Remember when I went to visit our father in the hospital without you last month? They happened to have a free CPR class taking place while I was there, so I decided to try it. I never through I'd have the chance to use what I learned so soon!"

Tristan kept his head low while he recovered. He stood with his hands on his knees, heaving for air. His tall spike of dark brown hair pointed at the edge of the table.

"Tristan, are you OK?" Serenity asked.

Tristan's breaths came closer together, and he shuddered while he looked at the ground. When he finally raised his head, his face was streaked with tears.

"Tristan! What's wrong?" Serenity gasped. She took him by the arm and led him back to his seat.

Yugi and Joey exchanged worried glances. Just a moment ago, they were happily discussing their future plans. Now, Tristan was crying uncontrollably. Serenity put an arm around Tristan in an attempt to comfort him, but it only made him cry harder.

After a few minutes, Tristan's sobs abated and he gained enough courage to speak. "I have to go to America for college. My dad pulled a few strings at Dartmouth University, and he'll kill me if I don't go. Every Taylor since my grandfather has gone there, and even though my marks aren't exactly up to their standards, they let me in because I'm a Taylor. I'm sorry, Serenity. I didn't want to tell you like this. It's just that when Yugi mentioned International Enterprises I… You see, my father works for International Insurance, and they are the ones funding my tuition. It's all set up, and there's no backing out."

Serenity looked at her brother for help, but he too was at a loss for words. The four friends sat in silence for a while. Then, Yugi came up with an idea. "Hey! Bakura now owns International Enterprises, right? That means he also owns International Airlines! Maybe he'll give us special deals on flights so we can visit each other more often."

Tristan shook his head slowly. "I've already spoken with Bakura about that. He just laughed at me and said that I should focus on my studies instead of my love life. Unfortunately, I think he has a point."

"What are you saying, Tristan?" Serenity asked.

"Serenity, I just want you to be happy, and I… I think we should see other people," Tristan said with a gulp.

Now, it was Serenity's turn to cry. She clung to her boyfriend's chest, sobbing while he stroked her hair.

"Tristan, you jerk!" Joey yelled, "My sister just saved your life, and this is how you thank her!" Joey stood abruptly and grabbed Serenity by the hand, hauling her away from Tristan. On his way out, he passed Tea and threw some bills on her serving tray. "If that doesn't cover it, I'll pay you back later."

Yugi and Tristan sat dumbfounded while Tea came over to their table. "What was that about?" she asked.

"Tristan just broke up with Serenity," Yugi explained.

"What! Tristan, how could you? You two made the perfect couple!" Tea gushed.

"Ms. Gardner, stop socializing and get back to work!" a male voice behind her ordered.

"Eep! Sorry guys! Catch you later!"

"Wait, Tea! Can you get me another milkshake?" Yugi asked.

"Sure, Yugi." Tea left the table and went to process his order.

Tristan put his head in his hands. "I'm such a fool!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Tristan! Breakups are never easy," Yugi consoled.

"I just hoped she would understand and not see me as a total scum bag. I thought that maybe we could stay friends or something."

Yugi nodded. "I know what you mean. I'm afraid to tell Tea about my scholarship in Cairo."

Just then, Tea set Yugi's milkshake down on the table. "Congratulations, Yugi! You're going to call me every day, right?"

Yugi looked up at his girlfriend with a blush, "We'll talk later, OK?"

Tea frowned at him and walked away to serve the other customers. Yugi sighed and took a sip of his milkshake. Tristan looked down at the rest of the food on his plate and pushed it away. For once in his life, he simply was not hungry.

**Closing Notes**

I put these at the end instead of the beginning just because they looked too cumbersome at the beginning. These are just a few reference notes for you all to use when reading the rest of the story.

**Character Ages:** Character ages are more important in this story than they were in the other stories I wrote. Therefore, I referenced the Absolute Anime website for all character ages. According to Absolute Anime, Mokuba and Serenity are both 13. Bakura, Marik, Yugi, Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Duke are all 16. Seto is 18. Ishizu is 20. Mai and Pegasus are 24. This will be a silentshipping story even though Seto is five years older than Serenity. Honestly, I don't have any age qualms about shipping any of these characters together because there is an even larger age gap between my boyfriend and me.

**Time Frame:** This story starts two years after the regular Yu-Gi-Oh! series ends, so take all the character ages and add two years. Also, there may be spoilers in this story if you have not watched the entire series. Since you can access the series for free on Hulu, and the series was completed several years ago, I am assuming that everyone reading this has already watched the whole series and that spoilers will not be a problem for anyone.

**Setting:** I have heard some people say that when using the dub names, Domino should be in America. However, in this case Domino is in Japan. Also, this is a slightly altered reality not in terms of the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, but in terms of the real universe. History in this universe diverged from history in our universe around 1930. In this universe, several countries are at war with each other and struggling desperately to pay off their war debts. Japan is a democracy now, and warring against communist China. Even though Seto stopped supplying weapons of war long ago, some countries still owe debts to Kaiba Corporation along with several other corporations.

**Call For Reviews: **I strongly encourage people to leave constructive criticism and I accept anonymous reviews. In fact, one the most useful reviews I ever received came from an anonymous source who wrote under the name SammieBarone. So, please don't hesitate to speak your mind!


	2. Persistent Spirit

**Author's Note: **The bulk of chapter actually occurs a couple of weeks before the first one, but I felt it would go better as the second chapter. So, here come the flashbacks! After this chapter, things will move in a more straightforward fashion.

**Disclaimer: **Any resemblance that my fictional characters have to real people is entirely coincidental. Fire Ice and snowcones (Fics) gave me the name for Gilbert Jones. I would like to extend my everlasting thanks to her, because Jones turns out to be a key character in this story even though I originally developed an older version of him in "Buildings Don't Fall," which you should not read yet because of the spoilers.

**Music Lover's Alert: **The theme song for Gilbert Jones is "Butcher for Hire" by David Rovics. The theme song for this chapter is "Paul Wolfowitz" by David Rovics. Both songs are available on Youtube so that you can find them easily.

**Chapter 2 Persistent Spirit**

Seto Kaiba looked in the mirror and adjusted his formal dinner jacket. He despised corporate galas, but unfortunately attendance was mandatory for any major CEO who wanted to stay in business. This evening's event, sponsored by International Enterprises, was a particularly important one.

As the world's largest corporation, International Enterprises financed a candidate in almost every election in the developed world. Thus, its CEO had the power to bend every law to his will. One year ago, Duke Devlin had insulted the aging CEO of International Enterprises by refusing to attend one of his parties. In anger, the CEO pressured Japan's legislature into closing a loophole in the tax code that favored Devlin's company. Immediately, Devlin's stock prices plummeted, and he limped home to his mother's basement, refusing to speak to anyone.

Devlin was not the only one who had fallen at the mercy of more powerful corporations. Kaiba had seen the same phenomenon occur countless times ever since he was a boy under Gozaburo's training. Gozaburo never missed a corporate gala, and that was part of the reason why Kaiba Corporation became so powerful. Simply showing one's face at such events earned a CEO credibility and respect.

Kaiba ran a comb through his sleek brown hair and then walked down the hallway. He stood outside his brother's door and called, "Mokuba, are you ready yet?"

"Yes, Seto!" Mokuba replied. He opened the door and came out to join his brother. He had combed his long, unruly black hair smooth and he was wearing a tuxedo that matched Seto's. It was light blue with brightly polished silver buttons. It was an odd color for a tuxedo, and it looked ridiculous on Mokuba, yet fantastic on Seto. Seto had offered to get one in a different color for Mokuba, but Mokuba had insisted on matching his brother. Besides, when they stood together, Mokuba's tuxedo didn't look nearly as hideous as when he stood alone.

The two brothers walked out of the mansion together and got into the limo that was idling in front. Their butler opened the door for them, and the driver pulled the vehicle away from the mansion.

"Seto, why are we going to this party again?" Mokuba asked.

"Some geek named Bakura just took over International Enterprises, and he wants to flaunt his new power. Plus, I want you to learn how to act at these events in case anything ever happens to me. It is absolutely crucial to the survival of our company that we attend these so-called parties."

Mokuba sighed. "OK, but if it sucks I'm going to throw a real party at our mansion; one without stuffed shirts."

"Mokuba, you can't talk like that in high society. When we get there, I want you to stay close to me, and don't say a word unless someone asks you a direct question. Is that understood?"

"Yes, big brother," Mokuba replied.

Their limo pulled up in front of a huge mansion, and the Kaibas stepped out onto a red carpet. They walked into the grand ballroom in a dignified manner, where they were greeted by Gilbert Jones, the forty five year-old CEO of Stellar Defense. His chubby wife stood by his side. Her brown hair had a light sprinkling of gray that matched his. "Mr. Kaiba! I was hoping I'd see you here. How's business?" Gilbert asked.

"Excellent as usual, Mr. Jones. What about yours?" Seto replied.

Mokuba looked up at his older brother with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Since when did Seto become so cordial with the man he always ranted about when they were eating dinner at home?

"Absolutely booming, Mr. Kaiba! In fact, I have so many orders for my new tanks that I can't fill them all! Is there any chance you could spare some space in one of your father's old factories for me? You would be handsomely rewarded!" Gilbert offered.

"I'm sorry, but the old equipment in those factories has been completely dismantled. They're only good for manufacturing gaming devices now," Kaiba replied.

"Well, if you ever decide to get back in the arms business, you know who to call!" Gilbert waved to the Kaibas and left to mingle with another group.

Mokuba turned to his brother. "Seto! Why did you even give that jerk the time of day?"

"It's all just part of the game, Mokuba," he replied.

Another CEO approached the brothers. Mr. Pattel, the CEO of Pattel Corporation, had an absolutely stunning blonde in a slinky, sparkly red dress leaning on his arm. He was more than a little tipsy, and so was his date. "I'm glad you finally brought your girlfriend along, Mr. Kaiba! She's got gorgeous hair. A little too muscular for my taste, though!"

Mokuba looked at his brother silently in horror.

"This is my brother, Pattel. I see you brought your flavor of the month with you," Kaiba replied.

"Yes, and what a delicious little thing she is," Pattel replied, planting a sloppy kiss on the girl's neck while she giggled.

"What did you tell her this time, Pattel? We all know that you're going to throw her away and get a new chick for the next event."

Before Pattel could answer, the woman slapped him, called him an obscene name, and stormed off to find a different CEO to accompany. Pattel stumbled after her, spilling the glass of champagne he was holding while Seto laughed.

"What was that you said about high society?" Mokuba asked.

"The drunk ones are fun. You can say whatever you want to them and they won't remember the next day," Seto replied.

The Kaibas cruised by the buffet table, sampling the various different types of fine sushi while Seto explained some of the finer points of etiquette with one's fellow CEOs that he had picked up from watching Gozaburo. If there was one thing that Seto admired about his evil step-father, it was his ability to mingle effortlessly with his rival CEOs.

When the clock chimed 8:00pm and everyone had a chance to get their fill at the buffet table, Bakura and his elderly uncle stood before their guests. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you the new CEO of International Enterprises! In honor of his new position, I present him with this platinum globe ring!" his uncle proclaimed.

—flashback—

Bakura was sitting in his uncle's office with the millennium ring around his neck. The shiny gold object caught some light from the window and cast intricate patterns on the ceiling. Bakura flipped through a magazine published by International Communications while his uncle spoke to a fellow CEO on the phone. Unlike the younger Bakura, the elder CEO's white hair came from age and stress rather than a lack of coloring pigments from birth.

"… I'm sorry about that, but it's my final offer. Take it or leave it," the aging CEO said. There was a long pause on the end of the line, and then his uncle spoke again. "Good. Come by my office tomorrow to sign the paperwork."

The elder Bakura hung up the phone, and then approached his nephew. He tapped him on the shoulder excitedly. "What is it, Uncle?" The younger Bakura asked.

"We just bought a major airline. This is the fourth one so far. Pretty soon, we'll own them all!"

"You really think so?"

"I know so, and one day it will all be yours, Ryou" The elder Bakura twirled the platinum ring around his finger thoughtfully, then slid it off and handed it to his nephew. "Here, why don't you try it on for size?"

The young albino took the ring from his uncle and put it on his own finger. It was way too big for him, but nevertheless it was fun to wear. Suddenly, his millennium ring started glowing, then shaking. A beam of light shot between the two objects, and then the gold ring was still again. "Did you see that?" the boy asked.

"See what?" his uncle replied.

"My millennium ring did something funny."

The elder Bakura laughed. "Ryou, when are you going to give up these silly fantasies of yours? You know as well as I do that your millennium ring is nothing more than an artifact, a very valuable artifact, but still just an artifact." He patted his nephew on the head, took back his platinum ring, and went to answer the ringing phone on his desk.

—end flashback—

Bakura Junior accepted the ring from his uncle, and the other CEOs applauded him. Then, a sudden change overtook him. Instead of bashfully accepting the applause and returning to the party, Bakura egged on the audience for more applause. Then, he took the microphone from his uncle's hands and spoke into it. "As the new CEO of International Enterprises, I'm going to be making a few changes around here. From now on, we CEOs are going to work together in one cause: to dominate, er, I mean to _unify_ the world. Effective immediately, all of you must clear your political actions with my team of analysts. If you don't, I can't guarantee the longevity of your company."

The business men looked up at Bakura with an expression of shock on their faces. The rivalries between different countries kept many of them in business. Bakura stepped off the platform, and immediately Gilbert Jones approached him. "Bakura, are you saying that you want to bring about world peace? What will happen to all of my customers?"

"Fret not, Gilbert. There will still be a demand for your products even if nobody actually uses them." The albino youth replied.

Mokuba turned to his brother. "I have a bad feeling about this, Seto."

"Nonsense," the elder Kaiba replied, "If Bakura thinks he can get the nations to stop warring with one another, let him try. It's a fool's quest, but I certainly won't stand in his way."

Seto and Mokuba cruised the buffet tables one last time while some of the other CEOs made small talk with Seto and congratulated him on his foresight in getting out of the arms business.

**Closing Note:** I am at least ten chapters ahead of this update in my paper notebook. I find that as I write, I am going back and forth a lot as I come up with new ideas to fill in the gaps. It will take some time for me to sort out the order of the chapters, so just be patient with me :)


	3. Seeking Advice

**Author's Note:** Thank You for all the reviews. I know that some people have issues with the ages, but just chill. The older you get the less it matters. Serenity and Seto are going to be abstinent until marriage anyway. By the way, the legal age of consent in Japan is 13, but this is an alternate universe, so I am going to make it 16 like they do in Canada.

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. I have mixed feelings about the lyrics of this song, but it has a really good beat and it fits this chapter.

**Chapter 3 Seeking Advice**

Tea and Serenity sat in a coffee shop sipping lattes. Tea's was caramel-flavored while Serenity's was raspberry-flavored. Tea wore a yellow tube top with jean shorts and flip-flops. Serenity dressed more conservatively, wearing a pink T-shirt with a cute little monkey on it and jeans that covered her legs completely. Joey monitored her wardrobe closely, so she was a little uncomfortable in the summer heat, but she had grown accustomed to it.

"Tea?" the younger girl asked, "Do you think there's any chance that I'll ever get back together with Tristan?"

"Absolutely!" the brunette replied, stirring more sugar into her latte.

"How do you know?"

"You're perfect for each other, just like Yugi and me!" Tea replied confidently.

"So, when do you think we'll get back together?" Serenity asked wistfully.

"I don't know. Probably right after Tristan graduates. I think he just wants to use college as a chance to find out if you're really the one. He'll probably try out a few girls over there, but they won't mean anything to him. In fact, I think you should do the same thing while he's gone… unless you already know for sure."

Serenity knew that Tea's words were meant to be comforting, but somehow she still was not convinced. "Are you and Yugi going to do that date-other-people-thing while you're in college?"

"Nope! Yugi and I are rock-solid!"

The door to the coffee shop jangled open, and Yugi stepped inside. "Oh my God! Yugi!" Tea exclaimed. She got up from her seat and ran over to him, then threw her arms around his shoulders and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips. Although Yugi had grown a couple of centimeters since he was sixteen, he still stood shorter than Tea, and she had to stoop to reach his mouth.

Tea stood in line with Yugi holding his hand blissfully while he ordered a mocha. As they waited for his drink to be made, Tea snogged him in a corner of the store. Serenity watched from a distance with envy, thinking of the few times when she and Tristan had managed to sneak away from the rest of the group to make out with each other. Tristan had always been a complete gentleman with her. He never pushed his luck by trying to feel anything that a bikini would cover, and Serenity always felt safe with him. She wondered if she would ever find another man as respectful as him.

Tea and Yugi sat back down with Serenity, and Tea immediately picked up the conversation where it had left off. "I was just telling Serenity how you and I are going to stay true to each other all through college even though we'll be thousands of kilometers apart. Isn't that right?"

Yugi rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Tea, about that, I… I want to explore a little. Four years is an awfully long time to be apart, and I just hope we can stay friends in the meantime."

Tea's jaw dropped. "You're… breaking up with me?"

"Um… kinda, yeah," Yugi scrunched down in his seat and prepared for Tea's outburst.

Instead of getting angry, Tea simply stared at him in disbelief. Yugi's stomach turned sour as he stared into his mocha and waited for blows that never came. "So, we'll still be friends, right?"

Tea laughed nervously. "Yeah! We'll be friends forever! Don't go forgetting about me while you're in Egypt!" A bead of sweat formed on her forehead as she spoke.

Yugi looked up at her in relief. "Thank you, Tea. You're a very important person to me, and your friendship means everything to me."

Serenity watched her two friends and sighed. She wished that she had more time to talk with Tristan before her brother pulled her away from him. Maybe if she hadn't burst into tears, Joey would not have got upset and dragged her away and she could have made an agreement with him like Yugi and Tea had made with each other. She wished from the depths of her heart that she could turn back the clock and do that moment over again, but she knew that it was impossible.

"Are you OK, Serenity?" Tea asked.

"I'll be OK eventually. I just feel so lonely right now," The auburnette replied.

"Keep your chin up, Serenity. I'm sure that there are plenty of guys out there for you. What about Duke? He always liked you," Yugi said in a comforting tone.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Tea cautioned, "Duke is still recovering from the loss of his company. He's too depressed to be in a relationship. Serenity, you need someone more up-beat. Why don't you try Mokuba? He's in some of you classes, isn't he?"

Serenity wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Mokuba! Eew! He threw a spit-ball at me in seventh grade."

"That means he has a secret crush on you," Tea replied.

Serenity shook her head. "No way! I know he's matured a lot since then, but I still can't shake that awful image of him from my mind. I need someone older and more responsible."

"It's hard to find someone more responsible than Mokuba. He's the vice-president of Kaiba Corporation, and he goes there every day to help out his brother after school. I think that you should at least get to know him better," Yugi said.

Serenity sighed again. "OK. I'll take your advice. I guess I could use some more friends now that most of you are leaving. By the way Tea, where are you going?"

"I got a dance scholarship at Tokyo University. All those lessons finally paid off!"

"That's great, Tea! I hope you come back to visit us often," Serenity replied.

"Every chance I get," Tea agreed.

The three friends finished their coffee and changed the topic to their glory days of duel monsters. Since Yugi had said good-bye to the pharaoh, he had won several minor tournaments on his own. However, he was still obsessed with the mysteries of Ancient Egypt and longed to study the era further. He was very eager to graduate and leave for Cairo University.

**Closing Note:** Has anyone seen Time Magazine's person of the year for 2011 yet? The article doesn't focus on Occupy as much as it should, but I guess that's fair enough because the other protests have been going on longer.

**Call For Reviews:** So, who sees where this is going? I know that those of you who have already read my other stories have a pretty good idea, so I'm curious to know what my new readers think. Oh, and for those of you who have been reading my stuff for a while, I still have some surprises in store for you.


	4. Kobe High School

**Author's Note:** This is an OC chapter. Although they don't meet the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters until much later, I figured I would intersperse a few of these in with this story for the purposes of character development. I promise that there will be a lot more Yu-Gi-Oh! character chapters than OC chapters. I'm tying this in as closely as possible with the plot, so let me know what you think!

Special thanks to all of my reviewers and my newest reviewer Bob785244755. I am absolutely still carrying on with this story. I write everything in a paper notebook before I type and publish it, and I have a whole notebook full of this story. However, I will be updating about once per week just because I am still writing and I keep writing chapters that should go in-between other chapters that I have written. I want to have the order of chapters all sorted out before I stick a number on them, so that's why it will take a while. I also have an internship in which I am writing a lot of non-fiction, so that's draining my tolerance for staring at a computer screen as well as my time.

**Warnings: **violence, rape attempt. Nothing explicit, though. PG-13.

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Beat It" by Michael Jackson.

**Chapter 4 Kobe High School**

Joan Saunders sat around a secluded lunch table with her three best friends Katie Sutton, Jessica Dennis, and Tamara Rakitan. They were all juniors in high school, but they were already discussing their college plans. Their sailor school uniforms were white with black trim, while the boys at their school wore the same colors in reverse.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could all go to Tokyo University together?" Jessica asked, her black curls bouncing and her chocolate eyes shining.

"Absolutely," Joan replied with excitement glittering in the gold flecks in her blue eyes, "I think my grades are good enough. What about yours?"

"Probably," Tam said, "I've got a pretty decent marks, and with my gymnastics and other extracurricular activities, they might let me in." Tam was being overly modest. Joan had seen some of her graded papers lying around the Rakitan house, and she almost always pulled off a perfect score. People tended to think that she was stupid just because she was blond and athletic, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Katie twirled her own blond hair around her finger. Unlike Tam's hair, it was bleached and dyed. "My voice teacher says that I'm a shoe-in for the music scholarship as long as I don't let my grades fall too low."

"Why don't we all study together like we used to do?" Joan suggested.

"I'm doing fine on my own," Katie snapped. However, the other girls knew that the real reason she did not want to re-join the study group was that she felt insecure about her intelligence.

Just then, a group of five seniors sauntered up to their table. "What do we have here? A double date?" the alpha male taunted. Their leader, Mark Devlin, was technically not a senior. He was the older brother of Duke Devlin, but had been held back several years due to his delinquency. Since his younger brother had dropped out of school to run his failing company and complete his studies at home, Mark's behavior had gotten worse. The rumor around the school was that he would graduate as soon as his younger brother completed his high school education from home.

"Back off, Devlin," Katie growled.

Jessica put a hand on Katie's shoulder to calm her. "They're not worth it, baby."

"Oh, we're not interested in you two anymore. We're curious about Saunders and Rakitan. It seems that every day since last year, they've been having sleepovers together. So tell us… when's the wedding? Are we invited?" Mark persisted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Asked Tamara, dumbfounded.

"My girlfriend says that she heard you two making out in the bathroom. Given the nature of your friends, I wouldn't doubt it." Mark Devlin said sinisterly.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Devlin. I suggest you walk away now and mind your own business," Katie warned.

"Aww isn't that cute? The little lesbian is sticking up for her own kind!"

"Careful, Devlin. If you keep acting like such a jerk, your girlfriend might dump you the way I dumped my last and final boyfriend," Katie countered.

"We've heard enough out of you freaks! Boys, let's teach these chicks a lesson they'll never forget!" Devlin commanded.

The four teenage boys behind him split up and each selected a girl to target. They pinned down Katie, Joan, and Jessica without too much difficulty, but Tam could not be detained. She twisted out of the boy's grip and kicked him in his nether region, causing him to howl in pain. The other girls cheered her on while she took on the alpha male and disabled him as well.

Joan struggled back against her captor, making him vulnerable to Tam's assault. Tam yanked the brute off her best friend and punched him hard in the jaw. He reeled back, infuriated, and came at her again. Joan grabbed a pen from the table and plunged it into the back of the teenager's leg as Tam slipped agilely out of his reach. The boy fell on the ground in pain, clutching his leg. Tam and Joan turned to face the two remaining boys, who had tied up the other two girls and were staring to tear off their school uniforms.

"I suggest you quit while you're ahead," Katie said before biting her captor on his ear and drawing blood.

The boys hastily dismounted their victims and fled while the other three limped after them. Joan knelt down to help Katie stand while Tam helped Jessica. As soon as they were on their feet, Katie and Jessica embraced, holding each other close. Jessica sniffled a little while Katie stroked her rich black curls.

"I hope we never do anything that stupid when we are Seniors," Joan commented.

Tam nodded and sat back down at their table. The other girls joined her and the conversation gradually slipped back to normal.

"Joan, are you sure you don't want to move out of my place and get your own just so people stop talking about us? My parents would pay the rent for you," Tam offered.

"Only if the rumors bother you. Personally, I couldn't care less. Also, I like your parents. They make me feel at home. Sometimes, I almost forget that they're not really mine." A tear slipped down Joan's cheek, but overall she kept her cool.

The girls went back to discussing their college dreams and, with a little gentle prodding from Jessica, Katie agreed to study join the girls' study group again.

**Random Closing Notes: **This story will be structured a little differently from my other stories. It will have at least one duel somewhere near the end, but the duel will not coincide with the climax as it does in my other stories. Since this is a prequel and I already know where things are supposed to lead, I've had trouble getting it to follow a traditional plot mountain. However, I think that you all will enjoy it anyway.

Merry Christmas! In the spirit of sharing, I thought I'd share my experience at mass. I love attending mass, but I don't go too often nowadays because the choir director at my local church is a creep. Let's not go there right now. The point is that I got to go to church and celebrate with my parents, and it was great. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church has recently changed a bunch of the wording on what the priest and congregation are supposed to say at different times during the mass. He did this because he visited a bunch of churches around the world and noticed that they were all saying different things, so he decided to synchronize them. However, one thing that has stayed the same—and this cracks me up—is that right after the priest dismisses the congregation with, "Mass has ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" or a phrase very similar to that to signal the _end_ of the mass, the congregation replies, "Thanks be to God."


	5. Study Buddies

**Chapter 5 Study Buddies**

Mokuba sat behind Serenity in Algebra staring at her long, straight auburn hair and daydreaming. During the first few weeks of the semester, he had tried to get her attention by poking her with his pencil but she simply told the teacher on him and ignored his numerous attempts to apologize. Half-way through the semester, he decided to follow her after school instead of going directly to his brother's company. He watched her from a distance, making sure that he stayed out of sight.

On that particular day about three months ago, she had met up with Tristan and Joey, then started walking in the direction of the arcade. Joey had stopped briefly to tie his shoe at a street corner, and while he was distracted Mokuba witnessed Serenity giving Tristan a quick, furtive kiss. Mokuba felt shamed when he saw this, and immediately ran away from the scene. He reached Kaiba Corp a little winded, but still on time.

Ever since that day, Mokuba dreamed of the day when Tristan might leave for college and he might have another chance with Serenity. Mokuba had his eye on a few other girls at school, but Serenity was by far the most beautiful. She was thin and graceful, but she did not starve herself like some of the other girls he knew. She was also very smart. Although Mokuba never cheated off her, he would often look over her shoulder when the exams were being passed back to see a mark almost as high or higher than his own.

The bell rang and Mokuba started packing up his things. He leaned down and stuffed his notebook into his backpack. When he looked up, he saw a pair of gorgeous green eyes peering into his own violet ones. "Hi S-Serenity!" he stuttered in surprise.

Serenity stood with her hands clasped behind her back as if she was a little hesitant to ask. "Hi Mokuba. I've been thinking… Final exams are coming up, and I could really use a study buddy. What do you say?"

Mokuba blinked. "Yes! I'll study with you. Um… I usually do my homework in my office at Kaiba Corp. It's really quiet most of the time. My brother only sends people in to see me when he is too busy to deal with them himself. What do you say?"

"That sounds like a plan. I'll meet you in front of the school after classes end," Serenity replied.

"OK! See you then!" Mokuba agreed.

Serenity smiled and left the room to go to her literature class. Mokuba finished packing up his things, then happily skipped down the hall to his advanced computer programming class in the computer lab. It was not his favorite class, but the material came easily to him since Seto had shown him a few tricks over the years. Mokuba used a shortcut to complete his in-class assignment, then sat idly tapping his computer keys and daydreaming about Serenity. He wondered why she asked to study with him. Perhaps Serenity had finally realized that her boyfriend was not intelligent enough for her, or perhaps Tristan simply did not have enough time to study with her. Mokuba surmised that Tristan was probably job-hunting for something to do after graduation because there was no way that his grades were good enough for Tokyo University. Mokuba had no idea that Tristan's family had pulled some strings to get him into a university on the other side of the globe.

When the bell finally rang, Mokuba logged out of the school's computer. Then, he picked up his backpack and raced to the front entrance. He got there panting, and looked around for Serenity. When he did not see her, he leaned casually against a post and waited while his heart pounded loudly. She finally appeared from around the corner walking with Tea, who was giggling about something. Serenity spotted Mokuba and waved good-bye to Tea, then trotted up to Mokuba. Mokuba stood up from his post and fell in step beside Serenity as they headed towards Kaiba Corporation.

"Tea thinks you're cute," Serenity said.

"I thought she was going out with Yugi," Mokuba replied.

"She was, but now Yugi is going off to Egypt for college and Tea is looking around for someone else."

Mokuba blushed. "Oh. In that case, tell her that I am very flattered, but I'm interested in someone else right now."

"Who?" Serenity asked innocently.

"I can't say. She has a boyfriend right now, and I don't want to get in the way or anything."

"Fair enough," Serenity replied. She had a suspicion that Mokuba was referring to her, but she was not ready to give him a green light. Instead of mentioning her break-up with Tristan, she changed the topic to logarithms.

When they reached Kaiba Corp, Mokuba signed in Serenity as his guest and waved his security pass in front of the scanner on the security barrier. The two teenagers passed through the security barrier and into an elevator, where they made their way up to the executive floor.

Mokuba escorted Serenity to his office, which adjoined Seto's. One secretary, Ms. Brown, served both offices. She appeared to be a young woman, yet her demeanor was very cold and professional. She performed her job mechanically and efficiently, just the way the elder Kaiba liked it. Although she was approaching thirty five, she had never married and Mokuba suspected that she never would. She gave them a brief nod as they passed her, and soon Mokuba was alone with Serenity in his office. The office was simple and functional with a few posters of duel monsters on the walls to make it more cheery. Among them were the Blue Eyes White Dragon and Mystical Elf. Mokuba's desk was made of a richly stained oak and he had a comfortable black leather chair. Another, slightly smaller pair of black leather chairs sat in front of the desk.

Serenity took off her backpack and sat down in one of the plush leather chairs in front of Mokuba's desk. "I guess we should do our homework first and then discuss any questions we have later, Serenity suggested.

"Good plan," Mokuba agreed. Mokuba sat down in his office chair and took out his homework and a mechanical pencil. Serenity did the same. They worked in silence for about half an hour, then suddenly the door between Seto's office and Mokuba's opened and Seto poked his head into the room.

"Mokuba, please tell-" Seto paused when he was the girl sitting in the leather chair in front of Mokuba's desk. "Is that Wheeler's sister?"

"Yes," Mokuba replied, "She's my new study buddy, and she is much smarter than Joey."

Seto looked at the girl, who still wore her pink school uniform. Her glowing green eyes met his, and Seto could not help but be captivated by them. After three seconds, Seto tore his eyes away from Joey's little sister and addressed Mokuba again. "Please tell Mr. Clein why we don't want our logo on his underwear."

Mokuba nodded, and Seto shoved a flustered CEO into Mokuba's office, slamming the door after him. He was a young CEO of twenty seven years with black hair and brown eyes. He had a muscular build, which gave him enough confidence to stand up to his fellow CEOs, but he clearly lacked the skill of gracefully accepting "no" for an answer. "Mr. Kaiba, please re-consider my proposal! I'm offering you thirty percent of all of the sales from this new product!" he sputtered hopelessly.

"I'm sorry Mr. Clein, but once my brother has made up his mind, there's no changing it," Mokuba replied as coldly as he could with his fifteen year-old voice.

The CEO fell to his knees. "Please, Mr. Kaiba? This would be very profitable for both of us! How does thirty five percent sound?"

"It's not up to me, Mr. Clein. My brother has already told you 'no,' and I suggest that you leave before you make an even bigger fool of yourself."

Mr. Clein sniffled, got to his feet, and walked slowly towards the door. He touched the door handle and turned back to Mokuba. "If it was up to you, would you agree to the contract?"

"Maybe. I'm still learning the ropes of my brother's business, and I always defer to his judgment. Now, please leave before I am forced to call security."

Mr. Clein gave a brief, sheepish smile, then left the office.

Serenity looked up at Mokuba with a question in her eyes. "What was that?"

"That was just part of the game, Serenity. Don't worry about it too much," Mokuba replied.

Serenity nodded and went back to her homework while Mokuba finished his.

Mokuba completed his homework an hour later and looked up at Serenity. "So… Is there anything you want to review?"

Serenity shook her head. "Not yet. Algebra was really easy, and now I'm working on history. How are you doing?"

"Just fine," Mokuba replied, "Um… let me know if you have any questions later. I'm going to see if Seto needs anything from me." Mokuba left through the door that joined his office with Seto's, and returned with a flash drive. Mokuba plugged it into the computer on his desk and got to work while Serenity finished her homework.

Another hour passed, and Serenity looked up from her studies. "Hey Mokuba?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm done, and so far everything seemed pretty straightforward to me. Would you like to go get some frozen yogurt with me while we review?" Serenity asked.

"Just give me five minutes and I'll be right with you," Mokuba replied. Mokuba increased the pace of his typing for a few minutes, then saved his work and ejected the flash drive. He then disappeared into his brother's office.

**Closing Note:** I was thinking about terminology that people use to signal to others whether or not they are in the market for a new partner. The word "taken" comes to mind, but I don't like that one much. I remember a time when I was single, but not "available" because I was not interested in another person at that time. I like the term "available" because it is very flexible. What about you all? What are your favorite words?


	6. See Food

**Author's Note: **Resha Tsubaki: Love Triangle is not the term I would use. I can promise you that it will not be cliché at all. It's more like a vee, except that Seto and Mokuba would not go their separate ways if Serenity did not exist. As I said before, it takes a while to develop, especially since Mokuba thinks that Serenity is still in a relationship.

Geographically, I have decided that Domino City is very close to Kobe. Since Domino City doesn't exist anyway, I can do that.

**Music Lover's Alert: **Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" when the limo breaks down.

**Chapter 6 See Food**

Mokuba entered Seto's office. His brother was glued to his computer screen and typing rapidly. Without looking up, Seto sensed his brother's presence. "Did you finish already? That was fast."

"I got most of it done. I'm going out with Serenity now," Mokuba replied.

Seto stopped typing abruptly and looked up at his brother as if he had grown a second head. "You're taking Wheeler's sister on a date?"

"Not exactly. Serenity and I are just friends."

Seto hit the save button and shut down his computer. "I'm coming with you."

"Why?" Mokuba asked suspiciously.

"It's getting late, and there's no telling what kind of thugs are prowling the streets." Seto stood up, threw on his white trench coat, and walked through the door that joined his office with Mokuba's. "All right, Wheeler. Let's go. My little brother has a curfew and I suspect that you do, too."

Serenity looked up at the older Kaiba brother in surprise. His lean form towered above her, and goose bumps formed on her arms. She scrambled to get her things together and then stood up straight before him with her backpack slung over her right shoulder. "I'm ready, Kaiba."

Seto looked down at the girl in front of him while she smiled innocently. She had grown significantly in the two years since he had first met her. She was still taller than Mokuba, and her budding breasts had bloomed into delightful round mounds that pressed against the confines of her school uniform. "Yes, you are ready," Seto mused as he took two steps towards her.

Mokuba followed his brother into his office and stepped between Seto and Serenity. "When is your curfew anyway, Serenity?"

"10:00 if I'm with someone that my brother knows, and 8:00 otherwise," Serenity replied.

"We'll have you home by 9:00. We're having dinner in Kobe." Seto said in a commanding, non-negotiable tone. He then turned away from the two teenagers and dialed his limo driver on his cell-phone, summon him to meet them our front.

"I think I should tell my brother were I'm going to be," Serenity said to Mokuba while Seto was occupied. She dug her cell-phone out of her backpack and pressed her first non-voicemail speed-dial button, which called Joey.

Joey picked up the line after only one ring. "Hey sis! What's happening?"

"I was studying with Mokuba, and now Kaiba wants to take us both out for dinner in Kobe. He says I'll be home by 9:00. Is that OK?"

There was a brief pause on Joey's end. "Mokuba's just your study buddy, right?"

"Yes, and we plan to talk about school while we eat."

Joey paused again. As much as he despised the elder Kaiba brother, he had to admit that Mokuba wasn't half-bad. Plus, he was very smart and could probably offer Serenity some genuine study help. "OK. Make sure you're home by 9:00."

"Thanks, big brother! I'll see you later." Serenity hung up her phone and faced the Kaiba brothers. "What's for dinner?"

"Seafood," Seto replied. The twenty year-old CEO led the two teenagers out of Mokuba's office and past Ms. Brown. "We're leaving now. Shut down the office," Seto told his secretary curtly.

Ms. Brown nodded and mechanically started filing away the papers on her desk. Serenity smiled kindly at her as they passed, but Ms. Brown did not seem to notice.

When Serenity and the Kaibas reached the bottom floor, the limo was already out front and waiting for them. Its engine rasped as it idled, but Serenity and the Kaiba brothers paid no heed to it as they got inside. The car pulled away from Kaiba Corporation and headed out of town.

While they traveled, Seto watched quietly as Mokuba and Serenity discussed their history class. Serenity took a study guide out of her backpack, and the two of them went through the list of terms one-by-one. Although history was his least favorite subject, Seto admired the way Serenity eloquently described all the important historical figures on the list. Her soft, musical voice brought the past to life in a way he had not experienced since he hung out with Yugi. Seto closed his eyes and let her words wash over him like a fresh, running river.

Suddenly, the limo jerked to a halt by the side of the freeway. "What happened!" Seto yelled at the driver as he put on his hazard lights.

"I don't know! I'm not a mechanic," the driver said frantically.

White smoke poured out of the engine while the driver rifled through the glove compartment. He found the number for a tow truck company and dialed it. Seto peered over his shoulder and saw what he was doing. "Get a replacement ride for us first, you nitwit! Do you have any idea how long tow trucks take?"

"My brother could pick us up," Serenity offered. Before either Kaiba brother could protest, Serenity speed-dialed Joey and told him how they were stranded. Joey readily agreed to come pick her up, and told her that he was on his way.

Seto glared at her as she hung up the phone. "Wheeler, we could have called a cab."

"I know, but I figured that Joey would rather pick us up than worry about our safely. You never know with cab drivers."

Mokuba took Serenity aside and spoke to her in a low tone. "Do you realize how much Seto hates Joey? This isn't going to be pleasant."

"You mean that stupid rivalry is still alive? You've got to be kidding!" Serenity replied.

Seto heard their conversation, but pretended not to notice. Instead, he cursed himself for finding Joey's sister attractive and wished that he had never offered to take her out of town for dinner. He turned his anger towards his incompetent driver, scolding him for not checking to see if the vehicle had been properly serviced. He concluded his rant by saying, "You're fired!" then settled back into his seat, satisfied that he had unleashed enough rage.

When Joey pulled up behind the limo in his beat-up old green sedan, Serenity and Mokuba hopped out to greet him. Seto followed haughtily with his eyes turned away from Joey. "Don't I get a thank-you or something?" Joey asked.

"Thank You, Joey!" Mokuba chimed while he hopped into the back seat of the car.

Serenity took her place in the front seat, and Seto was about to join his brother in the back seat when Joey said, "Not so fast! I want to hear it from the big boy!"

"Thanks, Wheeler," Seto mumbled, "Dinner's on me."

"Much better!" Joey re-started the engine in his car and pulled onto the freeway.

Joey asked Seto for directions to the restaurant and Seto called one of his household staff members to supply them. He then relayed the information to Joey. It felt good to be the one giving orders again, and Seto enjoyed it for the few brief moments it lasted.

Joey then asked what exactly went wrong with the limo. Seto shrugged and grunted. Joey went on a long monologue about all the things that could go wrong with an engine. "Hey, I could take a look at it for you tomorrow. I bet I can fix it! I do all the repairs on this baby myself. I call her Panther Warrior," he concluded, patting the dashboard.

Although his old car was in perfect running condition, and Seto suspected that Joey would easily figure out what was wrong with his limo, the last thing Seto wanted was to owe Joey a second favor. "No, Wheeler. I'm going to buy a new limo; one without so many odd parts that can break down."

"Well, the only way to eliminate all those parts is if you get and electric car, and last time I checked they don't make electric limos, so why don't you let me have a look under the hood of your old beauty. Come on! I know you must have some attachment to her." Joey pulled up in front of the seafood restaurant and circled the lot for a parking space.

"Don't be ridiculous, Wheeler. I'll custom-order and electric limo, and you will keep your grubby paws off it." Seto noticed that Joey was having no luck finding a parking space. "Ever heard of a valet, dweeb?"

"Of course I've heard of a valet! I just didn't know they had one here." Joey pulled up in front of the restaurant and got out of the car along with the others.

The valet recognized the Kaiba brothers, and looked from them to Joey's beat-up sedan in astonishment. "Don't ask," Seto said as he climbed out of the back seat and huffed past the valet.

The valet got into Joey's car and drove it away while the four young people made their way into the restaurant and took their seats. Joey ordered lobster while the Kaiba brothers had scallops and Serenity chose oysters.

When their food arrived, Joey stabbed his lobster barbarically in a display of bad manners that set Seto's teeth on edge. "I forgot to mention that dogs are not allowed here," the CEO growled.

Joey stuffed a handful of lobster into his mouth and then looked over at a group of elderly ladies sitting at a table next to them. Each one of them had a Pomeranian with a jewel-studded collar peeking out of their purses. "What about them?" Joey asked.

Seto groaned and rubbed his temples while Joey continued to poke his lobster viciously. Serenity blushed at her brother's rude table manners and looked to the Kaibas for direction on how to eat properly. She delicately copied their movements, careful not to put too much on her fork at one time. Seto eventually gave up trying to correct Joey's behavior and turned his attention towards Serenity. Her timid green eyes darted away from him when he caught her looking at him, and he smiled in amusement.

"Tell me, Serenity. What is it like being a freshman at Domino High?" Seto asked.

Serenity carefully chewed and swallowed the oyster that was in her mouth. "I like it. There are so many exciting classes to choose. I don't know many of my classmates, though. When I moved to Domino two years ago to be with my brother, I just hung out with his friends."

Seto glanced at Joey, who had somehow managed to smear butter in his blond hair. "I'm surprised you maintained you IQ this long. What's your secret?"

Serenity shrugged. "I read a lot and took advantage of every learning opportunity that came my way. However, I've also learned a lot from Joey's friends. Tea and Yugi are very wise."

Joey stuck out his tongue at Seto. His face was greasy from the butter, but Joey did not seem to care. "See, rich-boy? Friends help each other grow. Maybe if you had some, you wouldn't have had to rely on me when your limo broke down."

Seto Kaiba smirked. Joey had been pestering him all evening, and now it was payback time. "Maybe I just need to learn more about this friendship thing for myself. I'll tell you what: From now on, your sister will be my friend. Let's see if she can prove you right."

Joey's mouth fell open, and a gob of half-chewed lobster rolled onto his plate.

"What's wrong, Wheeler? Afraid I'll expose your friendship speeches for the mumbo-jumbo that they really are?" Seto said smugly.

Serenity looked from her brother to Seto in bewilderment.

"All right, Kaiba! You're on! You've gotta treat her like a real friend, though. If she comes crying home to me about anything, You will never see the light of day again!"

Seto and Joey glared at each other for a few minutes. Then, Mokuba cleared his throat. "I get to join whenever you two go, right big brother?"

"That would be fine, Mokuba," Seto replied.

"Cool! Let's show Serenity around Kaiba Land next weekend," Mokuba suggested.

"Yeah! That sounds awesome!" Serenity agreed.

"Mokuba, I'm already booked next weekend. We'll have to make it some other time," Seto said firmly.

"Cancel something," Joey said just as firmly, "If you don't spend some time with my sister at least once a week, then you're not really serious about being her friend."

"Wheeler, I have a company to run. I can't just drop everything and go prancing around town with your sister," Seto replied coldly.

"Going back on your word already are we? I knew you couldn't keep a friend for more than five minutes. You're just a pathetic creep with no balls," Joey taunted.

"All right, Wheeler. I'll prove to you that I can be a good friend just like anyone else. Serenity will be my friend for a whole year, and at the end of that year, you'll come sit at the foot of my desk wearing a dog suit and doing tricks for my visitors."

"You're going to be the one in the dog suit, Kaiba!"

"We'll just see about that," Seto replied.

The older brothers shook hands to seal their deal, and then finished their meal in silence. Mokuba and Serenity stared in confusion at their older brothers for a while, then timidly started discussing the quirks of some of their school teachers. By the time the meal was over, Mokuba and Serenity were laughing with each other, completely oblivious to the tension between their older brothers.


	7. Kaiba Land

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews. The bet is not going to have a simple win-lose outcome. It's much more complicated than that, just like life!

**Music Lover's Alert:** "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

**Chapter 7 Kaiba Land**

A full week passed uneventfully. Serenity met Mokuba a few more times after school to do homework in his office. Seto poked his head into the office occasionally to asked Mokuba for favors, but only spoke to Serenity once to nail down the time and place they would meet before going to Kaiba Land. Serenity felt uncomfortable around Seto, as if she was an ugly piece of furniture that Seto was planning to kick out into the street as soon as his brother Mokuba agreed to get rid of it. However, Seto's coldness towards her was merely a by-product of his years of professional training and his drive to finish all the work he needed to complete before their Kaiba Land outing.

On the morning of the Kaiba Land trip, Serenity woke up to phone call from Tristan. She jumped out of bed and quickly checked the hallway outside her room out of habit to make sure that Joey was not eavesdropping, and then answered it, "Hi Tristan."

His voice shook a little as he spoke. "Serenity, I want to apologize for being so insensitive earlier. I never meant to hurt you. I care about you, and I want to stay friends. So, what do you say to one last date before I graduate?"

Serenity's heart raced excitedly at the thought. "What did you have in mind, Tristan?" Out of habit, she did a half-skip over to her mirror and started fussing with her long, light auburn hair.

"I figured that you and I could go to the beach today so, um… what do you say?"

"I already promised that I would go to Kaiba Land with Kaiba today."

There was an empty pause on Tristan's end. "Please tell me you're joking."

"No Joke! Kaiba is picking me up in less than an hour."

Tristan paused again. Then, his voice became heated. "Is this some sort of ploy you cooked up with Joey to make me jealous?"

"No! This is for real! Seto and I are-"

*click*

"-Just friends," Serenity said into the disconnected phone. When she realized that Tristan had hung up on her, she threw herself onto the bed and started sobbing. Then, she heard a soft knock on her door. "Go away," she replied.

Joey spoke through the door. "Serenity, what happened? Did Kaiba call you and say something nasty?"

"No! It was Tristan. He… He…"

Joey opened the door and went to sit beside his sister. He stroked her hair soothingly. "Don't let that jerk get to you, Serenity. You have plenty of time to find a new boyfriend. In fact, I don't want you dating anyone else until you're my age. Right now, just go and have fun with your new friends."

With some effort, Serenity ground her crying to a halt. "OK. Um… I guess I should get ready then. I'm a total mess right now."

Joey patted Serenity on the back. "That's the spirit!" Then, he left the room so she could change.

Serenity dug through her closet to find something colorful to wear. She picked out a T-shirt with Wing Weaver on it, and threw on a pair of jeans to compliment it. Then, she went to the washroom. She wiped the dry tears off her face, combed her hair, and brushed her teeth. Then, she put on some pink lip gloss and light mascara.

The doorbell rang, and Serenity checked herself in the mirror before running to answer it. Joey was already there, opening the front door for her. "All right, Kaiba. If I even get a whiff of you saying something rude to my sister…" Joey drew his index finger across his throat.

Kaiba caught sight of Serenity standing behind her brother. The pastel colors of her shirt accentuated her beautiful skin tones and soft green eyes. "Don't worry, Wheeler. She's obviously not a mutt like you."

"Serenity, are you sure you want to be friends with this jerk?" Joey asked.

Serenity looked up at Kaiba's icy blue eyes and wondered why she had agreed to participate in this silly game between him and Joey. Then, she thought back to the day on Kaiba's Battle City Tournament blimp when he had capitulated to her pleading gaze and provided Bakura (the nice one) with medical care. She knew that there was some good in him, and she set her sights on him bringing it out in him again. "I'm sure."

Kaiba's new limo sat quietly in front of the Wheeler residence. Its immaculate silver paint glistened in the sun. Kaiba flaunted it briefly in front of Joey, then escorted Serenity down to it. Joey muttered "Show-off" under his breath as Mokuba opened the door for Serenity and he watched them get into the limo. Kaiba's new driver turned the motor on and pulled away from the curb. The vehicle made a high-pitched screech that sounded like a vacuum cleaner on steroids as it drove, which the passengers inside did not hear due to the excellent sound-proofing material that Kaiba had installed in the body of the vehicle. Joey put his hands over his ears and yelled something obscene as the limo disappeared from sight. He looked as if he had just heard a screaming banshee.

Serenity looked back at Joey through the back window. "Kaiba, what's wrong with my brother?"

Seto, who had been watching Joey the whole time, laughed. "He doesn't like the motor I picked. This was produced by Schroder Corporation. It's a wonder that that loser is still in business. He can't get anything right! Anyway, I have a better, quieter model on order from a small private company that actually knows what it is doing."

"That's cool, Kaiba. Do you think that the small private company would share what they know with Schroder so that he can build a better motor?" Serenity asked.

Seto looked down at the innocent teenage girl. She had a lot to learn about the ways of businessmen. "No. Schroder would have to buy the company first, and I'm not going to let him."

"Why not?" Serenity asked.

"Schroder has a contract with International Oil not to produce any electric car motors that people would actually want to buy. It is a very complex document with subtle wording, but that's the general idea," Mokuba explained.

"International Oil… that's part of International Enterprises. Bakura owns that, right?" Serenity wondered.

"Yeah, and so far he's been bullying all the weaker companies into serving his every whim," Mokuba replied.

"That's terrible!" Serenity exclaimed, "Kaiba, why don't you stand up to him?" She looked at him with the same pleading eyes that she had used on him over two years ago during the Battle City Tournament when she had begged him to give Bakura medical attention.

Seto Kaiba's heart softened as he looked into her pure, innocent face. A little more moisture than usual coated his icy electric blue eyes. "I do what I can."

A heavy silence enveloped them for several minutes, and then Serenity abruptly changed the subject. "I was thinking about getting Joey a graduation present while we are out. Do you guys happen to have any Red Eyes Black Dragon stuff in your gift shop?"

"No, but we could custom-order something for you. It shouldn't be too hard to change the dye colors on our Blue Eyes White Dragon products. Just tell us what you think he would like and we'll do it for you," Mokuba offered.

"You mean it? Oh Mokuba! Thank You!" Serenity threw her arms around Mokuba and gave him the biggest hug she could without unbuckling her seatbelt.

Mokuba blushed, and Seto watched her enthusiastic display of affection attentively. There was something about her that set off butterflies in his stomach, and Seto could not help but wonder if he would ever be the recipient of such a heartfelt hug from a female.

**Closing Note:**

Thankfully, the development of electric cars in our universe has only experienced a temporary setback due to the actions of corporations. If you would like to learn more, I recommend watching "Who Killed the Electric Car." There is also a really great article online about how someone used an aircraft generator motor in an electric car and it turned out sounding just like Kaiba's… *walks away whistling*


	8. Kaiba Land 2

**Author's Note:** If you are American and you have not already called your representatives about SOPA and PIPA, please take a moment to do that now before reading the chapter. SOPA and PIPA could shut down countless websites, including this one. Even if you are not old enough to vote yet, you can still call/write letters to your local representatives. The more phone calls and letters they get, the more likely they are to drop these heinous bills. If you are old enough to vote, make sure you sign a petition. Google is providing an easy link to the petition. I've signed the petition under my real name. Now, it is time for you to do your part.

**Chapter 8 Kaiba Land 2**

Kaiba Land was every bit as spectacular as Serenity thought it would be. The Kaiba brothers did not have VIP passes, but they did not need any because all the ride operators instantly recognized them and ushered them to the front of the lines. Serenity chose the gentler rides, which was fine with Seto because he did not particularly want to be seen screaming his head off like a maniac in public.

After the rides, they went to the food court for lunch. Serenity looked up at one of the signs and stopped dead in her tracks. She pointed her right finger slightly to the right of Seto. "Hey! Is that my name?"

Mokuba's eyes followed Serenity's finger to the place where she was pointing and read the sign out loud. "'Wheeler Dogs!' Seto! I thought we agreed to change that and call it something else!"

Serenity looked at Seto and said hesitantly, "Did you really name it after my brother?"

Seto nodded.

"Cool! I want one!" Serenity grabbed both Kaibas by the hand and pulled them up to the counter.

Seto's mind raced. How could she be so excited when her brother was obviously the butt of all his jokes? Was she really that dense? The girl was a complete mystery. Although Seto was shocked by her reaction, he decided not to let it show. "Three Wheeler Dogs. Now!" Seto snapped at the man behind the counter.

Serenity released the Kaibas and examined the caricature of Joey on the side of the hot dog stand. He had a huge mouth, his messy blond hair fell over his eyes, and his ears were drawn long and floppy. "Aww! Joey looks so cute! Who drew it?"

"Some graphic artist," Seto said with a shrug.

The man behind the counter handed them their food, and then the group found a quiet place to eat.

Serenity took a bite of her hot dog and sighed with delight as she chewed it. She swallowed and then chirped, "This is so much fun! Thank You for taking me out here."

"You're welcome," the Kaibas replied in unison.

When they finished eating, they went to play some virtual games. The three friends strapped themselves into some blue and silver virtual pods and started a game against three other players. Their progress displayed on a screen above them. As soon as people realized that the CEO and Vice President of Kaiba Corporation had stopped to play one of their own games, a huge crowd gathered to watch him and see if he would win.

The theme park version of Kaiba's virtual worlds was much shorter and simpler than some of the other games he designed. It ran on a five-minute timer, and the goal was to do as much damage to your opponents as possible while keeping your own life points high. Seto and Mokuba worked as a team, rapidly deflecting their opponent's attacks and taking turns on the offense. They also guarded Serenity for a short time while she unleashed a few powerful fairy monsters that strengthened her team's life points as they attacked. Their opponents quickly realized their strategy and singled out Serenity as a target. With a few concentrated attacks, they blew her out of the game. This enraged both Seto and Mokuba, and they instantly sprung into action. They knocked out the opponent who launched the final attack on Serenity, then turned their attention on the other two.

Suddenly, their five minutes were up and the game shut down. A computer screen above the virtual pods flashed Mokuba as the winner for keeping the most life points and having the best accuracy rating even though Seto had done the most damage. The crowd cheered for the Kaibas as they unstrapped themselves from their virtual reality chairs. Serenity and the Kaibas bowed, then shook hands with their opponents. The crowd then dissipated, allowing Serenity and the Kaibas to enjoy the rest of their visit to Kaiba Land in peace.

"Come on! Let's go get our fortunes read!" Mokuba urged.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Mokuba, you know that machine doesn't really read fortunes. You're the one who designed it!"

"I don't care! It's fun and the guests like it. I think Serenity will like it, too!" Mokuba insisted.

"What does it do?" Serenity asked.

Mokuba led Seto and Serenity through a maze of people to a small, coin-operated booth with a computer terminal encased in a decorative red and gold veneer. "It's like a tarot card reader only more sophisticated. It takes your name, your birth date, and your fingerprints into account and then shows you which duel monster cards are supposed to represent your life. I calibrated it so that it would always read the Blue Eyes White Dragon as one of Seto's cards and the Dark Magician as one of Yugi's cards. So, it is definitely more accurate than your average tarot card reader." Mokuba inserted a coin into the machine.

The machine lit up, and a computerized voice said, "Please input your name and birth date, then place both of your hands on the scanner in front of you."

Serenity did as she was instructed.

"Processing data," the computer said.

Seto crossed his arms and sighed. "Mokuba, you realize that the only reason I let you keep this thing here is in case any wanted criminals are stupid enough to use it."

"Come on, Seto! It brings in its fair share of profit," Mokuba defended.

"Data processing is complete. The card that represents your past is Marie The Fallen One. The card that represents your present is Wingweaver. The card that represents your future is People Running About. The card that represents your friends is The Illusory Gentleman. The card that represents your opponents is Trial of Nightmare." One-by-one, the cards appeared on the computer screen. When the machine was done speaking, it displayed all five card side-by-side.

Serenity looked down at her Wingweaver shirt. "How did it know?"

"It is all based on mere chance," Seto said dismissively, "Can we go now?"

"I want to see yours first, Kaiba!" Serenity pouted.

"But Mokuba calibrated it based on me. My results are already pre-determined," Seto protested.

Mokuba shook his head. "Not quite. The computer algorithms are set up to make Blue Eyes only _one _of your cards. The others are determined through complex mathematical equations that change based on the current day and time. Now would be a good time to test it in order to make sure it still recognizes Blue Eyes as one of your cards."

"Fine. Just for you," Seto finally caved. Mokuba inserted another coin and Seto followed the computer's instructions. His results in order were: Solitude, Blue Eyes White Dragon, United Resistance, Rogue Doll, and Mysterious Puppeteer. "See, Mokuba! Every card except for Blue Eyes is completely meaningless."

Serenity put a hand on Seto's forearm and looked up at him with her shining green eyes. "I'm sure that every single one of those cards means something, Seto. You just need to look in your heart and you'll find it."

Goosebumps formed on Seto's skin at the touch of her hand. It irked him how vulnerable he felt around her, so he pulled his hands away from Mokuba's machine and crossed them over his chest. "All right, Wheeler. Since you're such an expert on these things, tell me what my cards mean."

Serenity blinked. "I don't know what your cards mean. You have to figure that out for yourself. I have some idea of what my cards might mean, though. Marie The Fallen One represents my past because of my parent's bitter divorce, among other things. For years, Joey and his friends were the only people who kept me going. Now, I'm starting to branch out and make my own friends. Wingweaver represents how I've come to peace with my past, and now I'm hoping for a brighter future. The other cards are more difficult. I'll have to think about them some more. Anyway, let's see Mokuba's cards now!"

Mokuba inserted another coin into the machine, and Seto took one last look at his cards while they disappeared from the computer screen. He contemplated them briefly while the machine read Mokuba's fortune. Mokuba's cards were Pendulum Machine, Master & Expert, Oppressed People, Fire Princess, and Guardian Of The Throne Room. Mokuba frowned. "That's odd."

"What is it?" Seto asked.

"Our future cards all go together. People Running About, Oppressed People, and United Resistance are part of a set," Mokuba explained.

"Your point?" The older Kaiba asked.

"It's just cool. That's all," Mokuba replied.

"Yeah! It's really cool! I'm so glad we stopped here," Serenity agreed, "So, now what should we do?"

"Let's hit the gift shop and then leave. I need to get back to work on a few things that I postponed," Seto said.

The three of them made their way to the gift show and browsed through the shelves of Blue Eyes White Dragon gifts. Serenity thought carefully about what her brother would like. Since he was not going to college, she felt that a backpack or notebook would make an inappropriate gift for him. She finally selected a beach towel and showed it to Mokuba.

"Excellent decision," Mokuba agreed, "We can change the dye colors on that easily. I'll put in the order for it tonight and have it delivered straight to your doorstep. It should arrive in time for graduation."

"Thanks, Mokuba! How much do I owe you?" Serenity asked.

"Don't worry about it," Mokuba replied, "We'll have to make at least one thousand of them, so we'll sell the rest of them off as a 'special edition' item. Since we got the idea from you in the first place, I don't think it would be fair to charge you for it."

Serenity let out a cry of gratitude and gave Mokuba another hug while Seto observed them closely. Serenity's breasts flattened against Mokuba's chest, and Seto found himself wondering what it would be like to be in Mokuba's position.

**Closing Note:** Mokuba still doesn't know that Tristan is going to Dartmouth, and Seto doesn't know that Serenity and Tristan were together in the first place.

I am dead-serious about SOPA and PIPA. If those bills pass, the fanfiction you know and love may be banned from the internet forever. This directly affects all of you, so there is no excuse for not giving your representatives a call and/or writing them a letter. By the way, real letters are more effective than e-mails because the congressional aides must physically handle them and count them. You can write a long letter or send a simple, short postcard.

If SOPA and PIPA pass, we may actually end up living in the best democracy money can buy.


	9. Job Hunting

**Author's Note:** I want to extend a big thanks to everyone who took action against SOPA/PIPA. It looks like we've conquered the shadows for now.

This chapter is for Joey x Mai fans. I know it is a bit short, but the next one is a lot longer.

**Chapter 9 Job Hunting**

Just as Mokuba predicted, Joey's present arrived on the Wheeler doorstep three days before graduation. Joey found it sitting on his porch when he came home from school. It was addressed to Serenity, who was currently out having ice cream with the Kaibas, so Joey took it inside and set it on the kitchen table. Then, he went to the family computer to check his e-mail.

He logged into his account and saw a dozen bold-faced lines of text appear on the screen. Most of the messages were automated reminders for him to pick up this cap and gown or to order a class ring, which he had decided not to do. However, there was one personal message that caught his attention. It was Mai Valentine's response to the graduation ceremony invitation that he had sent her.

_Hi Joey,_

_I can't believe you actually made it all the way through high school! That's more education than I ever completed, so of course I'll be there! Hey, do you have dinner plans for that evening yet?_

_Take Care Hun,_

_Mai_

Joey read the message, then jumped out of his seat and did a little dance. "Oh Yeah, Baby!" he yelled. After his initial rush of endorphins, he sat back down and started typing his response. Yugi and Tea had made dinner plans for their small group of friends, but given the tension between him and Tristan, Joey was eager for a good excuse not to attend the event.

_Hi Mai,_

_I'm so glad you're coming. I never gave much thought to dinner plans. Did you have something in mind?_

_Best Wishes,_

_Joey_

Joey hit "send" and browsed the web for a while. He looked up some newly released duel monsters cards and searched for upcoming tournaments. He started to register for one, but stopped when he realized that it was only for duelists under 18. He did another search to find one that he could enter, but the only one he found was being held over a thousand miles away. Joey sighed and started browsing for jobs instead. He applied for three things, and then went back to his e-mail inbox.

Mai had already replied to his last e-mail. This time, she omitted the greeting:

_I'm surprised you didn't already make plans. You're ALWAYS thinking about food. Well, meet me after the ceremony and I'll take you somewhere special ;)_

Joey shouted with glee and danced around his chair again. While he was making a fool of himself, Serenity walked into the room and set down her backpack.

"What's so exciting, Joey?" she asked.

Joey reddened like a tomato. "Eh, nothing! I'm just a happy guy, that's all. Hey, something came for you." Joey quickly shut down his e-mail, and then led Serenity into the kitchen. Joey picked up the box and shook it, but it made no sound. "Any guesses about what it might be?"

"I know exactly what it is. It's your graduation present, so no peeking!"

"Can you give me a hint? Just one? Pretty please?" Joey begged.

Serenity laughed at the sight of her brother's brown puppy dog eyes. "OK! The Kaibas helped me pick it."

Joey eyed her suspiciously as he set the package back down on the table. "Really? How is old Kaiba treating you anyway?"

"He's slowly getting better at being a friend. I'm really glad that he and Mokuba are hanging out with me so much. It helps me take my mind off Tristan."

"Speaking of Tristan, I don't want you talking to that jerk again," Joey said.

"Won't we see him at the after-graduation party?"

"Nope! We're going out with Mai."

"_Mai_! I didn't know you were still in touch with her."

"Yeah, well she does her own thing most of the time. She travels the world entering duel monsters tournaments. I'd like to do some of that after I graduate."

Serenity blinked. "You're going to leave me?" The image of the Illusory Gentleman flashed through her mind.

"I'm not going anywhere for a while. I've got to get a steady job before I can even think about traveling."

Serenity brightened. "OK! Just be sure to call me whenever you're away and let me know all about the cool stuff out there!"

"I will, Serenity." Joey gave his sister a big hug. He knew how much she relied on him for security. Even though they had spent most of their childhood living in separate homes, Serenity always looked to Joey rather than her mother for comfort. Their mother was a cold and callous woman who neglected Serenity when she was in a good mood and verbally abused her when she was in a bad mood. After Serenity had her eye surgery, she decided to go live with Joey and their father, Samuel Wheeler.

Samuel worked long hours at a uranium mine and commuted two hours every day, so Joey and Serenity rarely spent time with him. Last year, he had a major heart attack that hospitalized him. While he was bedridden, the doctors discovered multiple tumors in his other organs and prescribed various treatments for him. Serenity and Joey visited him as much as they could while his health declined, and now he was a mere skeleton of the man Joey and Serenity once knew. He could not get out of bed, and would be watching Joey graduate via webcast. Samuel simply could not offer either of his children much in the way of emotional support. That is why Serenity and Joey were much closer than normal siblings.

**Closing Note: **Samuel Wheeler is a concept that I developed later in the creative process. One of the reasons I delayed this chapter was so that I could mention him here. I just didn't want him popping up out of nowhere. I figured that my concept of Joey and Serenity's father would be a refreshing change from the standard abusive model that many other authors use. However, I got lazy on the mother and just decided to leave her out of the picture as much as possible. Anyway, you'll get to meet Samuel Wheeler in the hospital later!

**Please Review!**


	10. Graduation

**Music Lover's Alert: **I have been gradually expanding my music repertoire and I think that **"**Most Girls" by Pink would be the best single song to use for Mai as I portray her in my story. Otherwise, Fleetwood Mac songs seem like the best fit for her, and coincidentally Fleetwood Mac has long blond hair like Mai does.

**Warnings: **Brief, non-explicit intimacy observed from a distance. Brief language.

**Chapter 10 Graduation**

Serenity and Mai sat side-by-side cheering as Joey walked across a luxurious hardwood stage and received his diploma. Joey Wheeler was one of the last people to be called, and within moments all the graduates had returned to their seats. The graduation ceremony was held in Domino's performing arts center with the graduates seated in the first few rows of chairs and the audience seated behind them. Since Domino was a wealthy community, the spacious theatre had intricately carved rafters and red velvet seats.

The guest speaker, Maximillion Pegasus, walked up to the podium wearing one of his favorite hot pink suits. Some of the graduates giggled at the sight of the young white-haired CEO, but were quickly shushed by their peers. Pegasus gazed upon the audience and said a few final words:

"As the CEO of one of the world's largest corporations, I have learned that team work produces much more astonishing results than the efforts of individuals alone. However, it was Yugi Moto who first taught me that lesson when he beat me at the very game I created with the help of his ancient friend. Now, as you look to the future, I admonish you all to put aside your misgivings and work alongside corporations like Bakura's and mine to make the world a better place."

An evil glimmer shot through Bakura's brown eyes and he smiled as Pegasus finished his speech and took a bow. All of Pegasus's words had been carefully scripted by Bakura's political analysts. Bakura twisted the platinum globe ring around his finger idly as he thought about what he would do after the ceremony. It felt so good to be back in his favorite body even if he had to wear an uncomfortably hot blue robe for a few hours to maintain the illusion that Ryou still controlled it. He stood up with the rest of the graduates and tossed his cap into the air.

Pompous music played, and the graduates marched out of the theatre. As soon as Joey Wheeler stepped into the sunlight outside, he crouched low and held his mortarboard over his face while he snuck away from the group of mingling graduates. Once he was free of the crowd, he ran out to Mai's little blue convertible and hopped over the door into the back seat.

Serenity and Mai walked out of the auditorium together and were immediately confronted by Tea. "Hey! Have you seen Joey? We've been looking all over for him," the athletic brunette said.

"Sorry, hun. We'll keep an eye out for him and let him know that you're looking for him when we see him," Mai replied.

"Thanks, Mai!" Tea waved good-bye to the buxom blonde and went off to look for Joey elsewhere.

Serenity and Mai exchanged glances and shrugged. "I guess Joey will turn up sometime. Let's wait in the car for him," Serenity suggested.

The two ladies walked out to Mai's car. When they got there, Mai was about to unlock the trunk to get out her make-up when a lock of messy blond hair surrounded by blue fabric caught her eye. Mai leaned forward to get a better view of the foreign object lying in the back seat of her car. "Joey, what on earth are you doing?"

The rest of Joey's head peeked out from under the cover of his blue robe. "Heh heh. I'm just taking a nap. That's all."

Mai was not convinced, and crossed her arms over her DD bosom to indicate it. "Uh huh. Did you realize that Tea is looking for you? If you have something going on with her, you better tell me right now because this night was supposed to be about you and me, and I'm not going to take the blame if your girlfriend gets pissed at you." As she spoke, her voice became increasingly shrill.

"No! It's nothing like that. It's just that… um…" Joey said as he tried to think of the right words to say.

"You better explain yourself right now, Wheeler because I'm not going to waste one more minute of my time with a low-life coward who can't be upfront with me."

Serenity looked up at Mai in shock. "Relax, Mai. Joey isn't seeing anyone. I'm sure he was just tired from the ceremony."

Mai fixed a penetrating gaze on Joey. Her violet eyes burned hot with red and blue flames. "Is that really all?"

Joey gulped and nodded.

Mai instantly dropped her jealous routine. "OK! Let's get out of here. I bet some food will restore your energy." Mai opened the trunk of her car and got out her make-up. After a quick touch-up job, she packed it away again, got into the driver's seat of her convertible, and urged Joey to ride shotgun while Serenity hopped in the back. She started the engine and pulled the car out of the school parking lot.

On their way to dinner, Mai asked Joey about his plans for the future while Serenity stared into space thinking about Pegasus and his speech. She recalled some of the things that Kaiba had said about International Enterprises and tried to reconcile in her mind why Pegasus would say the exact opposite about the company. She decided to ask Seto and Mokuba more about it later and tuned back into the conversation between Joey and Mai.

"Well hun, I'm actually thinking about settling down instead of running all over the place entering tournaments. Stellar Diamonds has offered me a full-time job in one of their jewelry stores here in town," Mai said with pride.

"That's so cool, Mai! Say, I'm thinking of getting a job working as a mechanic. Do you think they'll hire me?" Joey wondered.

Mai smiled playfully. "I don't know, hun. You're a little skinny to be a mechanic. You've got to look the part when you go in for a job interview. He'd never admit it, but part of the reason my manager hired me is that I make his merchandise look damn good!"

Joey noticed for the first time a glittering pendant in the shape of a hawk hanging around her neck from an elegant gold chain. The hawk dipped into her cleavage, bouncing from breast to breast with the vibrations of the engine. "Is that from the store?" Joey asked, taking the opportunity to reach into the folds of her bosom and touch the little bird.

Mai didn't stop him, but kept her eyes on the road. A little smile crossed her face as she felt his fingers brush her cleavage. "Yes. The manager lets me borrow the latest pieces to display for the customers and draw more people to the store when I am off the clock. I can't keep any of it unless I pay for it out of my own pocket, but it's still a lot of fun. Anyway, we're here!"

Mai stopped the car in front of a fancy Italian restaurant and got out. Her black spike heels clicked on the pavement. Joey, still in his graduation attire, and Serenity in one of her nicest pink dresses, got out of the car as well.

Mai eyeballed Joey as the valet whisked the car away. "I hope you're wearing something decent under that, sugar." Mai tossed her long blond curls and smirked. Her tight red strapless dress and skimpy black leather jacket made Joey feel uneasy.

"I… I thought we weren't supposed to wear anything under these things!" Joey stammered.

Mai looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I guess you only graduate once, so you might as well make the most of your cap and gown!"

Joey breathed a sigh of relief and followed the ladies inside. They were seated in a corner booth with plenty of privacy. Mai took off her jacket and slid up close to Joey. Her short red dress hiked up her leg, and her bare thigh brushed against the thin fabric of his robe. Joey tried to concentrate on reading the menu, but his eyes kept wandering to her ruby lips and the mounds of soft flesh that rose on either side of her hawk pendant.

"Is something wrong, Joseph?" Mai asked with mock innocence.

"I'm h-having a hard dick—Sorry, I mean a hard time deciding what to order. There are just too many tits—I mean items—on the menu. Do you have any suggestions?" Joey sputtered hopelessly.

Serenity glanced at her brother. He was acting very strange. His hands shook a little as he held the menu, and his eyes kept darting all over the place. He was also making an unusually concerted effort to be polite.

Mai leaned closer to him and pointed to something on his menu. "Try that one. I think you'll like it."

Mai's subtle perfume wafted into Joey's nostrils, making him feel light-headed. The waiter arrived to take their order, and Joey ordered what Mai suggested. The ladies placed their order as well, and the waiter walked away.

Serenity looked from Mai to Joey. They were now sitting slightly farther apart than they were before, but Joey still looked nervous while Mai smiled confidently. "Hey Mai, can I ask you something?" Serenity said.

"Sure, hun," Mai replied.

"Is it possible to get back together with a guy after he has broken up with you?" Serenity wondered.

Joey was too intoxicated by Mai's presence to comprehend was his sister had just asked. He stared mutely at her cleavage while Mai answered, "Absolutely not! Once that bastard is out of your life, never go back to him. I've dated enough men to know that giving a jerk a second chance is a recipe for disaster."

"What if he wasn't a jerk and it was all a big misunderstanding?"

Mai shook her head. "It just doesn't happen that way. Once he breaks up with you, it's over for good."

_Strange, that's exactly the opposite of what Tea told me,_ Serenity thought.

The waiter came back with three plates of steaming food. He placed a huge plate loaded with meatballs in front of Joey. Joey tore his eyes away from Mai and stared at the giant platter of pasta and beef. Both ladies laughed while they watched him fall in love with his meal. The waiter placed a plate of ravioli in front of Mai and a plate of gnocchi in front of Serenity. He bowed and left the three friends to enjoy their meal. Joey dug into his food hungrily. Unlike the time he had eaten out with Kaiba, he controlled some of his more savage impulses.

Mai continued to give Serenity relationship advice. "Do you want to know why I waited on your brother?"

Serenity nodded.

Mai reached out a manicured hand and toyed with Joey's golden hair. Joey stopped chewing and gulped, then looked at Mai as she spoke. "Joey, I knew that you were special from the moment I met you. I also knew that I didn't deserve someone as sweet as you. I wanted to prove myself worthy before coming back for you, and that's exactly what I did. Can you forgive me for keeping you waiting for so long?"

Tears welled up in Joeys eyes. "Oh Mai! Of course I forgive you! I knew all along that you were just out there finding yourself!"

Mai's heart pounded as she leaned in closer to Joey. She had been waiting for this moment for over two years. Their lips met in a powerful burst of passion while Serenity admired their devotion to each other. She found her mind wandering to a tall CEO with brown hair and stunning blue eyes. _No! Joey would never approve._ Serenity shook the image from her mind and instead focused on Mai and Joey as they shared their special moment. The two of them looked like they were always meant to be together, and nothing would ever tear them apart. Serenity had observed the same chemistry between Tea and Yugi. Now, she wondered how much of what Mai said was true. Mai and Tea had completely opposite philosophies on life and love, and Serenity did not know which one to believe.

…..

Tea, Yugi, and Tristan gave up looking for Joey and headed over to Burger World with a few other people from their class. They each ordered a full meal and sat down together.

"It's good to be the one getting served for a change," Tea said happily as she sat down next to Yugi. "Hey Tristan! Why the long face?"

Tristan was staring listlessly out the window. He remembered seeing Serenity walk out the door and down the street as her older brother dragged her away from him. "I just wish I could see her again one last time."

"Cheer up, Tristan," Tea said brightly, "You're going to one of the best universities in the world. I'm sure you'll meet plenty of intelligent, beautiful women out there."

Tristan sighed. "That's the problem. I got in through the legacy system while they got in because they had perfect marks. I'm just too stupid for them."

"Don't say that, Tristan," Yugi consoled, "Believe in yourself and you can do anything!"

"I guess," Tristan replied.

Their food arrived and Tristan picked at his meal while Yugi and Tea spoke enthusiastically about all the exciting things they hoped to do in college.

….

Mai dropped off Joey and Serenity in front of their small house. "Serenity, why don't you go on inside? I won't keep Joey too long."

Serenity nodded and hopped out of the convertible. She went up to the front door, unlocked it, and stepped inside. She turned on the porch light and peeked through the blinds at Mai and Joey. It was difficult to see what they were doing from a distance, but the convertible did not provide them with much privacy.

Mai snogged Joey hungrily, running her hands wildly through his hair and delving her tongue into his mouth. Mai smoothly slid over the gap between the two front seats and landed in his lap. She whispered something to Joey, and Joey moved his hands out of sight. Serenity had no idea what they were doing, but Mai seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. She threw her arms around Joey's shoulders and squirmed with pleasure. After a few minutes, she kissed him again and climbed back into the driver's seat.

Joey said good-bye to Mai and got out of the car. He sniffed his hand, and then wiped it on his gown. Then, he walked up to the porch with a huge grin on his face. Serenity was just inside the door waiting for him. "What did Mai say to you?" Serenity asked.

"She wanted me to give her engine a tune-up," Joey replied cryptically.

Serenity frowned in confusion, and then brought out Joey's graduation present, which she had removed from its shipping box and wrapped in pretty paper. Joey took it from her and undid the bow, then tore off the wrapping to reveal a fluffy Red Eyes Black Dragon beach towel. He held it up to get a better look at it.

"Wow, sis! This is amazing! Where did you get it?"

"The Kaibas custom-made it for you. They're going to sell a few more in their gift shop at Kaiba land, but you get the first one!"

"Wow! I guess those Kaiba boys ain't so bad after all." Joey hugged his sister in gratitude, and then went to his room to get ready for bed.

**Call for Reviews:** Did it work when I used italics to express Serenity's first-person thoughts? I'm thinking of using that method a little more often in my writing.


	11. Samuel Wheeler

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Corporations are People, too" by David Rovics

**Chapter 11 Samuel Wheeler**

Joey stood before the bathroom mirror shaving the last bit of stubble off his chin. He rinsed his face and patted it clean with a towel. Then, he double-checked himself in the mirror to make sure that his coveralls were on straight. Although he was only working as a mechanic for Internal Combustion Incorporated, he wanted to make a good impression for his first day on the job.

A knock on the door startled him. "Hurry Joey. We're going to miss the train."

Joey opened the door and looked down at his little sister. She was wearing a cheerful Time Wizard T-shirt and held a bag of freshly baked cookies. Even though he should have known what was going on, Joey's brown eyes glazed over with confusion. "Train? What train?"

"The train to the hospital, silly!" Serenity said with a light smile.

"That was today! I thought we weren't going until…" A drop of sweat formed on Joey's forehead as he remembered that he and Serenity had re-scheduled their weekly trip to visit their father in the hospital because Sunday was the only day that Seto was free this week. Joey had inadvertently forgotten about the schedule conflict when he told his manager that he would be available to start work today. Lines of worry crossed his face.

"What's wrong, Joey?"

"I can't go, Serenity. If I miss work today, I'll be fired before I even start," Joey replied sadly.

Pain flooded Serenity's innocent green eyes. "What will I tell Father?"

Joey thought for a minute, then said, "Tell him the truth. I got offered a really great job that I couldn't turn down, and to make up for this week I'll stop by to see him while you are out with Kaiba. I'll bring Mai, too!"

Serenity brightened. "That should cheer him up! I really wish that I could be there when he meets Mai, but it might be better if it's just the two of you anyway. So, tell me know it goes!"

"You bet I will, sis!"

Serenity glanced at her watch. "I've gotta run, Joey! Have a good day at work!" Joey waved good-bye to his sister as she dashed out the door and ran to the train station.

Once on the train, Serenity found herself with nothing to do. Even though Joey had his own car and kept it well-serviced, the train cost less than gas money for the long trip and the ride was more relaxing when Joey didn't have to keep his eyes glued to the road or deal with heavy congestion. Since she had planned to chat with Joey along the way, she had not brought a book to read. Serenity opened the contact list on her cell-phone and scrolled idly through the names. The first name on the list was "Big Brother," but she obviously couldn't call him because he was at work. After Joey came Devlin, Duke followed by Gardner, Tea. Serenity considered calling Duke, but quickly remembered Tea's warning about his dark mood. Serenity did not want to risk putting herself in a grim state of mind right before visiting her father. Hawkins, Rebecca was next on the list. Serenity had not heard from the blond child prodigy in quite some time, and she was curious to find out what she was doing. Plus, Rebecca was always cheerful.

Serenity dialed Rebecca's number, but Rebecca's phone was off and it connected straight to her voicemail. The peppy voice of a ten year-old said, "Hi. You have reached Rebecca Hawkins: graduate student at Oxford University. I am not available to take your call right now, so please leave a message after the tone."

An annoying beep sounded, and Serenity spoke into her phone. "Hi Rebecca! I just wanted to know how you've been and if you were planning on spending any time in Domino this summer, so give me a call back when you get the chance. Bye."

Serenity hung up the phone and went back to scrolling through her contact list. Ishtar, Ishizu came next. Serenity did now know why she had kept Ishizu's number because she certainly never used it. Perhaps it was out of a distant admiration for the Egyptian woman who so bravely fought to save her brother from the evil spirit that inhabited his body. Ishizu was strong like Mai, but in a different, quieter way.

Kaiba, Mokuba and Kaiba, Seto were next on the list. Serenity briefly considered calling Mokuba, but decided against it. She knew that Mokuba had a thing for her, and did not want to get his hopes up by calling him out of the blue_. His older brother, on the other hand… no!_ Serenity pushed the thought from her mind almost as quickly as it had come. There was no way that Seto could possibly be interested in her. She was nothing more than a fifteen year-old schoolgirl with no job who was living off of her father's meager social security pension. Just as she was staring at Seto Kaiba's phone number, her phone buzzed to life with an incoming call from him. Serenity stared at her phone in shock for a moment before answering it.

"Hello?" she asked timidly.

"Serenity, Mokuba said that friends are supposed to call each other for no reason. I have ten minutes to talk to you before my next appointment. So, what's up?" The phrase "What's up?" sounded foreign coming out of Seto's mouth, but Mokuba had insisted that he use it.

"I'm going to visit my father in the hospital," Serenity replied.

"What's wrong with him?"

The coldness in Seto's voice made Serenity cringe, but she reminded herself that Seto had not had a good, kind father figure in his life since he was nine. "Seto, my father has multiple forms of cancer. The doctors are doing everything they can, but it doesn't look good. They say that my father's condition is a direct result of working for Muraninite Minerals. He mined uranium ore for twelve hours a day for thirty years, and now his whole body is falling apart."

At the mention of Muraninite Minerals, something stirred inside Seto. Gozaburo Kaiba had bought many of the materials for his weapons from that company, and Seto knew its CEO well. Ever since Stellar Defense had taken the place of Kaiba Corporation as the word's top weapons manufacturer, Seto had avoided Muraninite. However, his blood pressure still rose every time he thought about the greedy CEO who often sold his step-father uranium. "Your _father_ worked for _Muraninite Minerals_?" Seto almost yelled into the phone.

At the sound of his angry voice, Serenity burst into tears. She choked on her words as she spoke them. "He didn't… have a choice… nobody else would hire him… without… a college degree."

The pain was evident in her voice, and it tugged at Seto's heart strings. Up until he died in an industrial accident, Seto's biological father had been a kind and generous man. The only difference between Seto's experience and Serenity's experience was that her father was suffering a long, drawn-out death while Seto's father had died suddenly, and his young sons never had the change to say good-bye. Seto would have given anything to see his real father one last time. His tone softened. "I'm very sorry, Serenity. My own father worked for Technicrop plowing and seeding fields with a huge machine. One day, the machine jammed and he got off to inspect it. I don't know exactly what happened from there, but Technicrop insisted that it was not liable. Since our mother was already gone at that point, Mokuba and I ended up in the orphanage."

"Oh Seto!" Serenity cried sympathetically, "I never knew!"

Seto's voice hardened again, "It's not something I like to discuss. Anyway, I have an appointment now. Good-bye, Serenity."

"Good-bye, Seto."

After Serenity hung up her phone, she stared blankly out the window of the train for the remainder of the trip. She wondered what it must have been like for Seto to lose his father so suddenly, and silently vowed to herself to treasure every moment she spent with her own father. Serenity got off at her stop, which was right next to the hospital, and walked in.

Samuel Wheeler's faded hazel eyes lit up when he saw his teenage daughter enter the hospital room with a bag of freshly baked cookies. "Serenity! Is it Sunday already?"

Serenity pulled up a chair beside his bed and sat down. "No dad, I came early because I'm meeting a friend on Sunday. Joey will be here on Sunday like always."

"I see. Tell me more about this friend of yours. What's her name?"

"_His_ name is Seto, and we don't have a lot in common, but he and his brother have been through some tough times just like Joey and me."

Samuel Wheeler gazed thoughtfully at his daughter. His prematurely bald head glistened as he spoke. "Another guy, huh? How serious is it?"

Serenity blushed madly. "_Dad!_ It's not like that. He's too old for me, and I don't even think he sees me as a real friend yet."

"How old is he?" Samuel prodded.

"He's twenty."

"That's only two years older than Tristan. Is he in college, too?"

Serenity inwardly cursed herself for telling her father so much about her love life. "No dad, he's the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, and he already learned everything he needs to know to run the company."

Samuel Wheeler was silent for a moment. Part of him wanted to remind his daughter that CEOs could never be trusted, but another part of him saw the way she glowed when she talked about him. Something made Seto Kaiba different from all the other CEOs, and Samuel had a gut feeling that his daughter's association with Seto Kaiba could benefit them both. "Well Serenity, this Kaiba fellow sounds like an interesting character. Tell me more about him."

Serenity started off describing how Seto's younger brother Mokuba had invited her to study with him. She left out the part about Joey's bet with Seto, saying instead that Seto was a good and caring person who wanted to get to know his little brother's friends better.

"So, is anything developing between you and _Mokuba_?" Samuel asked.

Serenity's nose wrinkled in disgust. "No way! Mokuba is just my study buddy. He's smart, but he is still _way_ too immature to date. Besides, Joey doesn't think I should date anyone else until I turn seventeen."

Samuel chucked a little. "Serenity, I met your mother when I was fifteen. Even through things didn't work out between us in the end, I'm glad they happened the way they did. You and Joey have given me so much joy throughout the years. What I'm saying is that you should follow your heart, not some silly rule that your brother made up."

Serenity was not quite sure what to make of her father's statement, but she nodded her head anyway. Eager to switch the topic of conversation away from herself, she said, "So… have you heard about Joey's new job yet?"

Serenity and her father chatted about Joey until visiting hours were over. Then, Serenity gave him a kiss on the cheek and left. She prayed that her father would recover, but in her heart she knew that he was nearing his final days.

**Closing Note:** I had a conversation with my parents very similar to this about my first love when I was 18 and he was 22. Now I look back on it and laugh because age really doesn't matter at all. It's more about the person as a person and nothing else.

For those of you who want a more funny, upbeat, lighthearted story, Cosmic Kiss is borrowing my character Janet Kaiba (the offspring of Seto and Serenity) for her Yu-Gi-Oh! GX story Jaden's Twin Sister. It is essentially a story that follows the same plot as Yu-Gi-Oh! GX with additional characters and some cute romance.


	12. Shopping

**Music Lover's Alert: **I did not know what song(s) to use for this chapter, so asked my readers to pick some for me. Here are the results:

Cosmic Kiss suggested "Vanity" by Lady Gaga.

Biskittins suggested "Something" by Adele… I think she meant that one of Adele's songs would be good, but she just didn't know which one to pick. Frankly, I don't know which one to pick, either. I have listened to a few of Adele's songs. She is a talented singer, but her songs just don't resonate with me personally. However, I did listen to several of Adele's songs on Biskittin's suggestion and found "Rolling in the Deep" might work… sort-of.

**Chapter 12 Shopping**

**-Several weeks later-**

Serenity lay on her stomach on her bed talking with her friend Seto over the phone. It was nearing the end of the summer, and Serenity had read novels through most of it. Her weekly outings with Seto and Mokuba had become her primary social outlet. Since Joey forbade her from seeing Tristan again, Serenity had spent almost no time with her other friends.

"I'm running out of ideas on where to take you. Where do you want to go?" Seto asked bluntly.

Serenity thought for a moment. "I don't know. Something has been on my mind for a while, though."

"Spit it out. I don't have all day."

"I've been wondering about all the corporate stuff you keep mentioning. Pegasus spoke at Joey's graduation, and what he said made International Enterprises sound really good. However, you seem to think differently. Why is that?"

Seto paused. "It's too much to explain over the phone. Why don't you come and see for yourself? There's a corporate gala next week, and I'm allowed to bring one guest."

"That sounds fun! What should I wear?"

"I doubt that you have anything appropriate. I'll go shopping with you this afternoon. Meet me outside your house at 2:00."

"OK Seto! I'll see you then!" Serenity hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to make some lunch. She hummed a little tune to herself as she spread peanut butter on a slice of bread.

Joey came down into the kitchen and caught her humming. "Hey sis! You're cheery. What's happening?" he said as he sat down and watched his sister make her sandwich.

"Seto is taking me to a party next week. I'll get to meet lots of CEOs and stuff. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess… if you're into stuffed shirts."

The doorbell rang, and Joey sprang up to answer it. "That would be Mai. Later, sis!"

Serenity waved to her brother as he left to be with his girlfriend. Then, she sat down with her sandwich and the book that she was currently reading. It was a tragic romance novel about a nurse who fell in love with a terminally ill patient. She was so engrossed in the novel that she lost track of time, and was startled when she heard the doorbell ring.

Serenity wiped her eyes dry on a napkin and went to answer the door. Seto was standing there in his long white trench coat. He saw the red rings around her eyes and said, "What happened to you?"

"I was reading a very moving book," she answered.

Seto narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.

"Haven't you ever cried from reading a book before?" she asked as she walked out the door and locked it behind her.

"No. That's the craziest thing I ever heard." Seto walked her out to the limo and got inside with her.

"Why don't you read it when I'm done with it so you can see what I mean?" Serenity suggested.

"No. I don't have time for novels. My step-father made me read some of the classics when I was under his tutorage, and I hated every one of them," Seto replied flatly.

"I see… Hey, where's Mokuba?" Serenity glanced around the interior of the limo as if he would magically appear out of nowhere.

"There was an emergency at Kaiba Corp. Since he doesn't want to see me lose my bet with your brother, he insisted that he could handle it without me."

"Oh. So I guess we're still not real friends then," Serenity said, matching Seto's monotone.

Seto jerked his head towards her in alarm. "What!"

"Real friend don't hang out with each other just because someone else makes them do it. Real friends do it by choice. If this is about nothing more than winning a bet, then you have already lost."

Seto stared at her in shock. Her words cut him more deeply than he imagined that they could. "Serenity, it's not like that. You've taught me a lot over the past three months, and I'm actually starting to like you."

Serenity blushed. "You… like me?"

"Yes, and if you weren't Wheeler's sister…"

"…What?" Serenity asked.

"Well, you are Wheeler's sister, so that point is moot."

Serenity stared at him silently, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Seto stared back at her with a smirk on his face and a glimmer in his electric blue eyes.

The limo came to a halt in front of a high-end boutique run by Kalvin Clein. Over the years, Mr. Clein had bought out several other clothing lines and consolidated them under one company. He had several different designers working for him, and his stores were divided by price range. Teenagers liked to drop by and ogle the merchandise of the high-end stores without buying anything, so Clein had instituted an entrance fee to his stores that would be waived if the visitor made a purchase.

Seto Kaiba and Serenity got out of the limo, and the driver went off to find a parking space. Seto reached into his pocket and pulled out his credit card. He swiped it through a machine stationed on the outside of the sleek black building, and the doors opened automatically. Several onlookers watched from a distance with envy as the CEO ushered the teenager wearing cheap jeans and a T-shirt into the fancy boutique.

Serenity looked around in wonder at all the fancy clothes on the racks. They were all made by the word's top designers, and Serenity recognized many of the names above the racks from the boastings of some of the wealthier students at her school. A shopping assistant approached them and introduced himself, offering his services to the two young people.

Seto made a shooing motion at the clerk with his hand. "We'll manage without you."

The clerk bowed humbly and backed away, giving Serenity and Seto space to move about the store freely. Serenity was instantly drawn to a rack of dresses that glittered with sequins and rhinestones.

Seto put a hand on her shoulder and steered her away from the rack. "You don't want one of those. Pattel's dates always show up wearing that line."

"So… you're worried that I'll have the same dress as someone else at the party?" Serenity asked innocently.

"That's not the problem. Pattel's dates are trashy, and you don't want to be associated with them. Plus, Pattel gets drunk and he might mistake you for his date even if your dress is slightly different from hers."

Serenity blinked as it dawned on her that Seto was genuinely looking out for her safety. "OK. What do you recommend?"

Seto led Serenity past several racks of clothing muttering the names of various CEOs whose wives or girlfriends adored that particular line of clothing. He finally came to one and stopped. "This is a good one. Gilbert Jones's wife wears this line. He is definitely not my personal favorite, but people tend to respect him."

Serenity approached the racks and searched through the dresses, Most of them were black or very dull in color. She finally settled on a pastel yellow dress with a dusty pink trim. She took it off the rack and turned around, holding it up against her skin so Seto could see. Seto nodded, and Serenity took it to a fitting room.

When Serenity emerged from the fitting room, the dress looked absolutely hideous on her. It sagged around her hips and made her butt look fat. Seto snapped his fingers, and a tailor came running.

"Fix that," Seto commanded.

The tailor rushed to Serenity's aid, sticking pins in the dress to pick up the loose folds. By the time he finished, the dress fit her perfectly, cascading gracefully off her hips. Seto grinned as he watched her transformation.

Serenity caught him eyeing her. "What?" she asked self-consciously.

"You look beautiful," Seto replied.

"Um… thanks," Serenity responded.

"We'll take it," Seto told the tailor.

The tailor escorted Serenity back into the room and helped her take off the dress so that all the pins would stay in place. Then, he took some final measurements of her frame and left. Serenity felt bashful in front of the tailor wearing nothing but her scruffy cotton bra and panties, but he maintained a professional demeanor and worked quickly.

When Serenity had re-dressed in her old clothes and stepped back out of the fitting room, Seto was on his cell-phone. Serenity stood quietly by his side while she waited for him to finish. After a few seconds, he snapped his phone shut and said to Serenity, "Walk." Serenity did as she was told, and Seto explained more as they headed out of the store. "They'll deliver the dress to you when it is ready. Right now, Mokuba is a bit overwhelmed. We will stop by Kaiba Corp. first, and then my driver will take you home."

Serenity nodded. As soon as they got back in the limo, Seto picked up his cell-phone again. He called Mokuba and spoke to him as if Serenity was not present.

"Bakura wants me to do _what?_"

-long pause—

"Who is this joker, anyway? What credentials does he have that make him fit to be prime minister?"

-medium pause—

"So, he's just some pawn that Bakura can easily manipulate."

-short pause—

Seto's voice grew heated. "Absolutely not! Tell Bakura that he can shove it up his… better yet, I'll tell him myself." Seto continued to rage and spout obscenities as his limo pulled up in front of Kaiba Corp's main office building. Without saying good-bye to Serenity, he charged out of the limo and marched straight into the building with his white trench coat billowing behind him. Serenity stared after him in bewilderment. She wondered what Seto had to do that was so important, and she had a feeling that she would find out soon.


	13. Election

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Election" by David Rovics. I uploaded it on YouTube so you can find it easily. It only has a few views, so it does not appear high on the search results, but just scroll down and you will find it. This song goes very well with "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" if you play them together. However, I am saving "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" for another chapter.

**Chapter 13 Election**

Bakura was sitting audaciously on the edge of Seto Kaiba's desk when he stormed into his office. The young albino CEO toyed with a pen holder on Kaiba's desk as if he owned it. Seto stopped two meters in front of Bakura and crossed his arms over his chest, fuming. Mokuba shrunk into a corner of the office while his brother berated the other CEO.

"Tsk, tsk, Seto," Bakura said disrespectfully, "Why are you resisting me when you know I can crush your pathetic company in ten seconds flat?"

"Bakura, I thought you had some decency left in you, but it looks like I was wrong. I'll play your game for now, but mark my words: some day this will come back to haunt you."

"But Seto," Bakura pouted, "Don't you want World Peace?"

Seto gritted his teeth. He had given up trying to make the other CEO call him by his last name long ago, but it still bothered him. "Bakura, if you think that electing an imbecile as a prime minister will bring about world peace, you're more insane than I thought."

Bakura let out a sinister laugh. "It's all part of the plan, Seto. Within a year, the world will be unified and war will cease to exist."

"In that case, don't come running to me when this ridiculous plan of yours fails."

Bakura laughed again and slid off the desk. He circled Seto like great white shark and spoke slowly. "Pegasus is backing me, Seto. If you don't comply, I'll turn everything you own over to him."

"I'll give _one_ speech for you, but I want it to be clear that _you're_ the one who put that moron in office."

"Good! You have twenty minutes left to prepare." Bakura picked up a piece of paper that was lying on Seto's desk and thrust it at the taller CEO. Seto, his arms still crossed, did not reach out to grab it. It fluttered to the floor while Bakura walked out of the room leaving Seto Kaiba alone with his vice-president.

Seto bent over to pick up the paper, set it on the edge of his desk where Bakura had been sitting, and hunched over it while he read.

Mokuba approached his big brother timidly. "Seto, I…"

"Not now, Mokuba. There was nothing you could have done. Just go and let me handle this."

The teenager bowed slightly and turned away. Without another word, he left Seto's office and walked into his own, closing the door as softly as he could behind him.

Seto read the paper several times until he was familiar with it. Twenty minutes passed, and then his secretary called him over the intercom. "Mr. Kaiba, your ride to International Communications is here."

Seto picked up the paper and stuffed it in his pocket. He walked out of his office and found a man in a blue suit waiting for him. "Mr. Kaiba, please come with me."

Seto let out a grunt and followed the man. They rode down in the elevator together and got out on the ground floor. The man led Seto out to an idling limo and opened the door for him. Seto got in and sat beside a forty five year-old man with hair that was mostly still black with a light sprinkling of grey and a charismatic smile.

The man extended his hand to Kaiba, and Kaiba took it in the briefest possible handshake. "You must be Mr. Kaiba! I'm Kouta Kuramitsu. I've heard great things about you."

Kaiba glanced at the man coldly, and then looked away. "I really don't care."

Kouta Kuramitsu looked heavily disappointed, but brushed off the comment as if it had never happened. "My aids tell me that you converted your father's weapons company into a gaming company. I think that's fantastic! You know, my first priority as a prime minister will be to end the war and pay off Japan's war debts."

"_Step_-father," Seto corrected.

"Oh, of course!" Kouta Kuramitsu rambled on about his campaign promises and goals while Seto scowled at the back of the limo driver's head.

The limo pulled up in front of a massive, imposing skyscraper. Kuramitsu's assistant opened the door for the gentlemen to get out. He then escorted them to the twenty-third floor.

As soon as the men stepped out of the elevator, they were led to some kind of dressing room. They sat in a couple of chairs in front of a mirror where several women bustled around them applying various creams and powders to their faces.

When their make-up was complete, the men were led to a studio where a neatly dressed woman in her mid twenties with chin-length dark brown hair sat waiting for them. She looked somewhat familiar to Seto; as if she was related to someone he had met in high school. She sat in a soft, cream-colored chair, and two similar chairs furnished the studio. A large audience witnessed the proceedings.

The talk show host stood. "Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Seto Kaiba and Kouta Kuramitsu. Welcome to the Cheryl Gardner Show!"

The audience cheered as the well-dressed men walked up to the talk show host and shook her hand. The gentlemen sat down in the chairs provided for them and waited while the applause died down.

As soon as it was quiet enough to speak, Cheryl asked, "Mr. Kuramitsu, we understand that you are running for the prestigious office of prime minister. What made you decide to do it?"

Kouta Kuramitsu looked at the teleprompter next to the camera behind his host and read the words that appeared there. "Well Cheryl, ever since I was a little kid I have dreamed about living in a world of peace and prosperity in which people set aside their differences and work towards the common good of all humanity. My father used to say that one day we would all…"

While Kouta Kuramitsu prattled on about his childhood, Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes. However, the cameras did not catch it. They were all on five-second delay, so they faded out to Cheryl as she nodded with interest at Kouta Kuramitsu's speech. When he was finished, Cheryl thanked him cordially for sharing.

Cheryl turned to Kaiba. "Mr. Kaiba, as the CEO of one of Domino's largest corporations, please tell us why you chose to support Kouta Kuramitsu above all other candidates."

Kaiba looked at the teleprompter and saw the words that Bakura's staff had written for him appear. He read them mechanically, trying to convince himself that it was really someone else who had been roped into serving the deranged CEO of International Enterprises. "Mr. Kuramitsu has an impeccable record of serving the public. Throughout his career as a mayor of Domino, he has shown unwavering integrity and honesty. He regularly visits Domino's orphanage to bring toys and games to the children there. I came from that very orphanage myself, and I can tell you from experience that visitors mean everything to the children there. They bring home and light into an otherwise dark and gloomy world. I believe that Kouta Kuramitsu will do the same for Japan, and our country will prosper while he is in the office."

Cheryl smiled with approval. "Mr. Kaiba, please tell us how you first came to know Kouta Kuramitsu."

Kaiba sat back in his chair and relaxed a little. Even though the words he spoke were entirely fabricated by Bakura's staff, he took solace in the fact that he could shift some of the blame for the election of the moron who sat beside him away from himself. "I met Kouta Kuramitsu at a gala sponsored by International Enterprises. It was a festive occasion, and Kouta was standing by the punch bowl discussing strategies on how to bring about world peace. I was impressed by his ambition, and joined the conversation. I found his ideas to be very insightful, so I gave him my business card and told him to call me if he ever needed any help changing the world. One week later, he calls me and tells me that he decided to run for the office of prime minister."

Kouta Kuramitsu gave a bashful grin for the camera as Kaiba finished his sentence. His warm brown eyes glowed with convincing sincerity. Kaiba's stomach churned, and he looked away from the politician.

"What a fascinating story," Cheryl gushed, "Well Mr. Kuramitsu and Mr. Kaiba, thank you again for joining us. I wish you good luck in the upcoming election." The talk show host stood, shook hands with both men, and waved to them as they walked off the stage. The audience applauded as they left. Kuramitsu waved to the crowd while Kaiba avoided looking at them.

As soon as they were backstage, Kaiba gathered up the last few shreds of his dignity and faced Kuramitsu. "You slimy bastard! I bet you only visited the orphanage one to pose for photographs."

Kuramitsu was not accustomed to being confronted directly. His face flushed, and he tried to explain himself. "Mr. Kaiba, you know as well as I do that a busy man cannot always partake in the simple pleasures of life that common people experience. However, the people still want to feel connected with their leaders on a deeper, personal level. One visit is plenty—"

Kaiba cut him off in the middle of his ramble. "Don't expect me to lie for you again."

Kouta Kuramitsu's mouth gaped open while Kaiba turned on his heel and walked away. Kaiba took out his cell-phone and called his own driver to come pick him up. He strode out of the studio with his white trench coat billowing behind him as he pressed the proper speed dial button and held the phone to his ear.

**Closing Note:** Just in case anyone was wondering, I wrote the talk show host character and then she sort-of transformed into Tea's older sister at the last minute. I don't have any plans to use her again in the future, but if any of you writers out there like the idea and want to use her, be my guest! I'm not tightfisted at all with any of my characters, concepts, plots, or ideas. If you feel like using them, just let me know and give me a little credit. Sharing is caring!


	14. A New School Year

**Author's Note:** This is another OC chapter. Again, they will not play a significant role until much later. This is mainly for character development, but it also tells the story from the perspective of the average person.

**Disclaimer: **Any resemblance that my OCs have to real/living/actual persons is merely coincidental. If you think you know someone in this story, trust me! It's not them. If I happen to know the person you think it is, it's still not them. They may share a few traits by coincidence, but the people in my story just don't exist in real life.

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Whoever Wins in November" by David Rovics, and then "The Draft is Coming" for the flashback, then "We Will Rise Again" by David Haas. I know that David Rovics gears his songs towards Americans, but just ignore that and listen to it as an international song. After all, this is an alternate universe. Again, I uploaded both of those songs after checking to make sure that they were not already on YouTube.

**Chapter 14 A New School Year**

Joan, Tam, Katie, and Jessica walked up the steps of Kobe High School. It was their first day as seniors, and they were determined to make the most of it so that they could attend Tokyo University together. A tall, lanky junior and his friends hung by the doorway sizing up everyone who walked inside. Since the school bullies had graduated last spring, a power vacuum caused all the males in the school with excess levels of testosterone to vie for the position of alpha male. The juniors at the door certainly fit that description. The leader of the small band of delinquent students had a shaved head and three barbells sticking out of one of his eyebrows. His sidekicks each had one or two eyebrow piercings, depending on their rank in the pack.

"Hey look! It's the Rakitans and the Suttons!" The alpha male taunted as the four girls walked past them.

Jessica put a hand on Katie's shoulder to keep her temper in check. "They're not worth it. They're not going to assault us with the whole school watching, so let's not give them a reason to do it after school."

Katie listened to the soft voice of her girlfriend and took a deep breath. She held her head up high, walked past the boys without looking at them, and dreamed of a day when she might tell them exactly what she thought of them. She pictured herself standing before them on a stage winning an award for her musical talent and telling the world exactly how pathetic these bullies were. She played her speech several times over in her head, revising it until it was absolutely flawless. The exercise calmed her, and she was able to pass by the boys with her head held high.

The four friends went straight to their statistics classroom and sat down in close proximity to each other. They had many classes together, and classrooms were their personal sanctuaries. Even though class was not due to start for another ten minutes, the room was a good place to hide from bullies, who typically did not show up in the same classes the four intelligent girls took. The teacher looked up briefly at the girls as they entered the room and nodded at them, then went back to the paperwork on her desk.

Jessica pulled a newspaper out of her backpack and laid it on the desk. "Look at this! Kouta Kuramitsu is taking the lead in the polls. I think he is going to be Japan's next Prime Minister."

Joan leaned over the paper and saw Kouta Kuramitsu sitting beside a young CEO in a white trench coat. The CEO had a smile that looked suspiciously like a grimace on his face, while Kouta Kuramitsu grinned broadly. Joan skimmed the article and frowned. "That's odd."

"What is it?" asked Tam.

"It says that the guy who endorsed Kouta Kuramitsu inherited a weapons company from his father… _step_-father and then converted it into a gaming corporation," Joan said.

A chubby boy with short black hair snuck up behind Joan and looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha reading?" he asked.

The girls jumped a little. "Oh! Hi Adam! We were just reading about the top candidate for Prime Minister," Jessica replied.

Adam took a seat near the girls and picked up the paper. He was a geeky, short boy who fit poorly into his black school uniform. However, he was also one of the few boys the girls considered their friend. Adam skimmed the article and then looked up at the girls. "So, are you going to vote for him?"

Joan shook her head. "I don't know. The guy seems good on paper, but so did our last Prime Minister. He promised to end the war too, but instead my father got drafted, Now that he's gone, I won't vote for anyone unless I know for a fact that he is trustworthy. Hey Adam, do you think you could do some snooping for us? Just find out if this CEO guy really dismantled his father's weapons factories, or if he just sold them to the highest bidder."

"I'm not _that_ good of a hacker, but I'll give it a shot. Hopefully I can pull up what you want from the public records. I'll meet you in the library after class, OK?" Adam offered.

The girls nodded their heads thankfully. Even though their fathers were all too old to be drafted, they all felt Joan's pain when the call came.

-Flashback-

Tam, Katie, and Jessica showed up on the doorstep of the Saunders apartment one fine Saturday afternoon. Joan's mother had died in childbirth at the age of fourteen, and her young father was off fighting communists, so Joan lived alone and her friends were her only social outlet. Since multiple other countries were engaged in the battle against communism, the draft was a short-lived token of Japan's support for its democratic allies. It ended promptly right before the Prime Minister's nephew was about to be called in for duty, but all the soldiers who had already been drafted remained on the front lines.

Katie, Tam and Jessica rang the doorbell and Joan answered. The apartment was a nice, quiet place for the girls to hang out and do their homework together. Jessica smiled and produced a plate of cookies that she had baked for their study session. Joan happily welcomed her friends inside and closed the door behind them. The living room was casual, but very well-kept. A low oak coffee table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by a few bean bag chairs of various colors. Jessica set her cookies down on the coffee table and dropped her backpack on the floor beside it. The two blondes dropped their backpacks on the floor as well. Tam knelt down and pulled a study guide out of her backpack, then laid it on the coffee table next to the cookies.

"What do you think we should study first? Political Science? Algebra?" Tam asked.

"Let's do Algebra first and get to the other subjects later," Joan replied.

Each girl selected a bean bag chair and plopped down into it. They pulled out their text books, their pencils, and some paper. Then, they went to the practice sections of their books and started working through the problems one-by-one. Occasionally, Katie would pause and let out a sigh of frustration. Then, Joan or Jessica would lean over to help her with her problem.

Joan paused to sharpen her pencil, and then returned to work on her math problems. After only a few strokes, the lead snapped, sending tiny splinters of graphite all over the page. Joan dusted the splinters away and reached for her pencil sharpener again. Just then, the phone rang. Since all of her friends were already at her house and her father always called her cell-phone rather than the land line, Joan ignored it as she sharpened her pencil.

"Aren't you going to get that?" asked Tam.

"Nope. It's probably just a telemarketer," Joan replied.

The line rang through to the answering machine, and the voice of an unfamiliar young man spoke. "Hello Joan. My name is Sean Carson, and I served with your father for the past two years. He was like an older brother to me. He took me under his wing and even saved my life on several occasions."

Joan froze with the half-sharpened pencil in her hand and stared at the machine. Why was a soldier calling the house, and why was he speaking about her father in past tense?

"I don't know if he ever mentioned me to you, but he sure told me a lot about you," Sean continued, "He said that you were his reason for living, and that without you he would happily join your mother in heaven. Unfortunately, he joined her a little sooner than he anticipated. Joan, I understand that this must be very difficult for you. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be sending you a letter soon, and you can reply to me when you get the chance. Please don't give up hope, Joan. Your father will be watching over you always. Make him proud!" Sean hung up the phone, and the answering machine clicked off.

Joan stared at the machine for a long time as if it would suddenly come to life again and tell her that it had been joking all along. Her friends watched her carefully, unsure of what to say. Joan trembled, and then jerked her head away from the answering machine. She buried her face in her bean bag chair and sobbed into it. Tam and Jessica scooted their bean bags closer to her and reached out, patting her on each shoulder and speaking soothing words.

"No matter what happens, you'll always have us," Tam consoled.

"Yeah, and don't forget that Sean guy. He sounded really nice!" Jessica reminded her.

Joan cried for what seemed like an hour. Katie watched awkwardly for a while, and then returned to her studies. However, she found it nearly impossible to concentrate, and kept glancing up at the heap of girls as if she expected them to catch fire and explode.

Tam's cell phone rang, and she answered it. "Hey mom, something really bad has happened to Joan. Can I spend the night with her… Mom! Alright, can she spend the night at our place? I just don't think she would be alone right now… OK! We'll see you soon." Tam hung up the phone.

-End flashback—

Adam sat in front of a library computer while the four girls leaned over his shoulder. "As far as I can tell, this Kuramitsu guy really does intend to end the war. Kaiba Corporation actually did dismantle all of its weapons factories, so that means that Kuramitsu's endorsement is very credible. I don't know about you, but I'm voting for him!"

The girls looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They were about to take part in their first election, and they wanted their votes to matter. Kuramitsu seemed like an excellent choice, and they were convinced that he would fulfill his campaign promises.

**Guessing Game:** So far, only one OC knows how to duel. Can you guess which one?

The first person to guess correctly gets to name Mokuba's… well, I would not use the word "girlfriend" who appears in chapter 27 (unless I come up with more in-between chapters). I don't want to give out too many spoilers, so I will give more details about her character to the winner.


	15. Queen of Ecuador

**Author's Note:** Well, we only had one guess on which OC could duel and unfortunately it was not correct. So, whoever guesses not only gets to name Mokuba's fling, but also gets a sneak peek of the duel.

**Music Lover's Alert: "**You Don't Fool Me" by David Rovics and "Sign Your Name Across My Heart" Terence Trent D'Arby. "Sign Your Name Across My Heart" is intended to be actually played during the chapter, so don't start that one until you get to the lyrics.

**Chapter 15 Queen of Ecuador**

Serenity put on her new pastel yellow dress and fastened a pearly pink button that held it all together at her throat. Just as the tailor had promised, it fit her perfectly. Although it was a very conservative dress and covered most of her skin, it showed off her feminine curves just enough to tease a potential suitor. As Serenity twirled around in the mirror, her light auburn hair lifted slightly off her shoulders, then settled back in place.

She then went out to the living room where she found Joey and Mai sitting on the couch organizing their duel monsters cards on the coffee table. "Hey Joey, how do I look?" Serenity asked.

"Is that the dress that Kaiba bought you? It looks great!" Joey answered.

Mai looked up at Serenity and eyed her from head to toe, then crossed her arms just below her breasts, making her cleavage bulge over the top of her white corset more than usual. "You look like a nun, hun. So, you say that Kaiba bought you that dress? Either he has no sense of fashion or… " her voice trailed off deviously, and her violet eyes glinted with mischief.

"Or what?" Serenity asked.

"Or he is trying to make sure that you don't get snapped up by any of the other eligible men at the party," Mai finished.

Serenity looked at Mai with a confused expression on her innocent face.

Joey laughed nervously. "That's ridiculous, Mai! Kaiba doesn't want anything to do with my sister. He's just trying to win a bet he made with me. Isn't that right, Serenity?"

Serenity looked into her brother's concerned brown eyes and saw a deep-seated fear in them. Although Seto had assured her that he actually liked her, Serenity could not help but pander to her brother's delusions. "Yes. That's how it all started," she said. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't really a lie, either.

Joey shot a satisfied grin at Mai.

Mai closed her eyes and bowed her head in resignation. "All right, but at least let me loan you a few accessories so you don't look so drab. Maybe if I fix you up enough, you'll catch the attention of one of the other loaded young men at the party."

"You'd really do that for me?" Serenity said, squealing slightly.

"You bet, hun!" Mai stood up and led Serenity out to her blue convertible. She opened up the trunk and pulled out a large metal jewelry box. Inside, several pieces of jewelry were neatly arranged and labeled with the date that they had to be returned to the store. Mai selected a few necklaces and held them up against Serenity's dress, thinking carefully about which one would go best with it. She settled on a delicate gold necklace of medium length that was studded with rose quartz gems. She put the other necklaces back in their box and took out of pair of earrings and a bracelet that matched. "These are from our 'Romance in Provence' collection. I think they'll be perfect for this evening's event."

Serenity took the pieces of jewelry from her one by one and fastened them in their proper places. "Thanks, Mai! I'll never forget this!"

"Don't mention it, hun. You just have a good time tonight," the blonde replied.

Seto's limo pulled up behind Mai's convertible, and Serenity gave Mai a good-bye hug. She then hopped into the limo where Seto was waiting for her. "Mokuba's not coming?" she asked.

"No. I'm only allowed to bring one guest, and Mokuba hates these galas anyway," the blue tuxedo-clad CEO replied.

"What's so bad about them?" Serenity asked.

"They are nothing more than glorified meetings where CEOs conspire with each other in mass numbers. The younger ones like to pretend that they are at a real party by fooling around, but most of them know better."

"What are they conspiring about?"

"For the most part, they make mutually beneficial deals that artificially increase their profits. Rather than making products that actually work, they fool people into buying the latest toys. I'm one of the few businessmen left who actually makes an honest living," Seto told her with more than a touch of pride in his voice.

Serenity's green eyes glimmered at him in admiration. "I think I get what you're saying. My brother's old duel disk from two years ago still works, but the toaster we bought from Schroeder Appliances broke down just two months after we bought it."

Seto looked at Serenity with a smirk. "Exactly. Never buy anything from Schroeder Corporation unless you are intentionally trying to annoy someone."

Serenity thought of the first electric motor that Seto had bought for his limo and the expression on Joey's face as he had listened to the high-pitched screech it made as it drove away. A little smile played over her lips. Although her loyalties lay with her brother, she had to admit that Seto's prank had caused no lasting harm to him. Now that Seto had a new motor, people no longer cringed when the limo passed them.

The limo stopped in front of a giant mansion with a red carpet in front of it. Before Serenity could get out, Seto grabbed her arm and said, "Take my arm and stay close to me. Some of the men out there are absolute sharks."

Mai's words flashed through Serenity's mind, and she wondered if there was any truth to them. She glanced at Seto's cold blue eyes and then quickly looked away again. Was it just her imagination, or was there a certain softness in his eyes? Seto stepped out of the limo first, and Serenity followed, immediately taking his arm as she was ordered. The two of them glided easily down the red carpet while a few photographers snapped their picture. Serenity was certainly not the first female guest that Seto had brought to a gala, but she was without a doubt the youngest and most beautiful. He occasionally brought his secretary or a high-ranking employee, but never before had he brought a guest who was not on his payroll.

The younger CEOs poked and nudged each other when they saw Serenity, trying to determine who would approach her first. Mr. Clein took one last swig of champagne, then walked up to Seto Kaiba and his companion with a broad smile. The slightly tipsy CEO took her free hand and kissed it as she clung tightly to Seto's arm with her other hand. "My dear, I believe I have seen you before, but we were never properly introduced. My name is Kalvin Clein and, as I am sure you are already aware, my company produces the finest clothing in the world."

Serenity glanced down at her dress and blushed, but before she could make a verbal response, Seto cut in. "Hands off, Clein."

An expression of mock embarrassment spread across the young, black-haired tycoon's face. "I'm so sorry to intrude, Kaiba. I did not realize that I was standing before the future queen of Ecuador."

Kaiba glared at Kalvin as if he had completely lost his marbles. "Whatever new slang this is, I don't have time for it." Kaiba pivoted on the foot that was closest to Serenity, whirling them both away from the other young CEO. Had he realized that Gilbert Jones and his wife were standing right behind him, he might have thought twice about making that move. Unfortunately, it was too late.

The middle-aged CEO smiled gently at his young blue-eyed counterpart. "I assure you that it is no slang. Have you not heard? After the next set of democratic elections are complete, all world leaders will pay off their nation's war debts by relinquishing control over their governments to us."

"I thought that corporations already ran those governments," Seto replied dryly.

Mr. Jones let out a small chuckle at Kaiba's statement. "In practice, we do have quite a bit of control already. However, we are going to take that one step further. With all the war debts and other debts those countries owe us, we can purchase the entire Democratic world, and the rest of the nations will have no choice but to bow to us as well. Bakura gets America, England and France. Clein gets Canada. Pattel gets Australia and Singapore. I get Egypt, Germany, Kenya, Norway, and a few more I forgot. Since the war debts owed to you are relatively small compared to Bakura's and mine, you get Ecuador."

"Who gets Japan?" Serenity asked in wide-eyed horror while Kaiba glared at Jones as if he was telling a sick joke.

"Pegasus gets Japan," Mr. Jones answered fluently.

"Tell me this, Jones. What makes you think that Japan's new prime minister will _let_ Pegasus buy Japan?" Kaiba said.

"Bakura hand-picked Kouta Kuramitsu for the office of prime minister for that very reason. Kuramitsu is so keen on ending the war that he will do anything, even sell the country, to accomplish his goal," Mr. Jones stated.

"Let me guess: The President of Ecuador was hand-picked by Bakura as well," Seto said. Serenity shivered as he spoke. She could not believe her ears.

Mrs. Jones made a pooh-poohing motion with her hand. The simple black dress she wore complimented her plump figure surprisingly well. A gigantic diamond ring sparkled on her fat finger. "Oh Kaiba! You make it sound so dreadful. Cheer up! You're frightening your lovely companion."

Seto looked down at Serenity and saw her pale, timid face gazing up at him. Perhaps it was a mistake to bring such a delicate, innocent soul into the lion's den. A compassionate involuntary smile crossed his lips as he said, "Yes, let's stop talking about corporate politics for a while and take advantage of the buffet table."

Serenity brightened a little and nodded, but she still could not shake the words of Mr. Clein and Mr. Jones from her mind. As Seto guided her gently away from them and towards the buffet table, the phrase "Queen of Ecuador" kept echoing in her mind. Would Seto really accept a whole country as payment for the war debts owed to him? How would he treat the people of his country once it belonged to him? Could she, a Wheeler, convince him to rule benevolently?

When they were out of earshot of the other CEOs, she asked, "Seto?"

"What?" He asked in a slightly more casual tone than usual as he gently shook her hand off his arm and handed her an empty plate to fill.

Serenity accepted the plate with a brief "Thank you" and watched Seto pick up a plate for himself while she collected her thoughts. "How do you feel about being King of Ecuador?"

Seto picked up a few pieces of sushi and put them on his plate. "I don't see what I could possibly gain from it. The country's major exports are all agricultural, and I need skilled workers for my company. If anything, it would just be a hassle finding someone I can trust to run the country without it becoming a burden to me financially."

Serenity looked over the offerings on the buffet table and selected a few choice delicacies. "What about just letting the current president run the country?"

Seto scoffed at her suggestion. "The current president of Ecuador is probably some bone-headed idealist who wants to end all war, but doesn't know how just like Kuramitsu. If anything, I would sell the country to some hot-shot CEO who thinks he can profit from it. After all, there are other investments I would rather make."

Seto and Serenity reached the end of the buffet table. Then, they made their way to one of the many round dining tables that graced Bakura's banquet hall. They each took a seat behind a place setting complete with chopsticks, a water glass, and two wine glasses. A waiter with two bottles of wine approached their table, but Seto dismissed him quickly. A water-bearing waitress followed on his heels, and Seto allowed her to fill his glass along with Serenity's. Serenity nibbled on her food pensively while Seto ate mechanically. He had grown accustomed to the maniacal scheming of his fellow CEOs, and was not nearly as disturbed by them as he had been when he first took over Kaiba Corporation.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed CEO of about fourty approached Seto Kaiba's table and invited himself to sit down. "Ms. Wheeler, I presume? Mr. Clein told me all about you. He said that your brother placed quite well in several major Duel Monsters tournaments. Congratulations!"

Serenity was impressed by the man's manners, but Kaiba eyed him suspiciously. "What do you want, Bestle?" Kaiba said flatly.

Albert Bestle danced around Kaiba's question. "Now now, Kaiba, Can't a man socialize with his favorite gaming CEO's girlfriend?"

_Did he just say girlfriend?_ Serenity wondered as she looked from Albert to Seto in confusion.

Seto responded without refuting Albert's statement. "This is about Ecuador, isn't it? You want my country so you can exploit its workers to get cheap cocoa for your products. Is that right?"

Albert Bestle closed his eyes and put his hand over his heart in a gesture of mock humility. "You have me pegged, Mr. Kaiba. I am indeed interested in the agricultural exports of your country."

"I appreciate the offer Bestle, but Ecuador is going to the highest bidder, not the lowest. Make me an offer and I will compare it with the others."

Albert scratched his clean-shaven chin idly. "I'll have my financial advisors determine its worth and contact you when I have an offer to make."

Kaiba grunted dismissively, and Albert took the message. He inclined his head graciously to Seto and left the table. As a CEO of precariously low rank, Albert had to defer to the wishes of every other CEO at the gala, His company produced waxy discount candy and other cheap foodstuffs which wealthy people tended to avoid. Although he turned a handsome profit, he remained so low on the social ladder that the CEOs often used him as the butt of their jokes and did not like to be seen conversing with them. Thus, he flitted from group to group groveling for scraps of juicy gossip that he could use to secure himself good business deals.

Serenity gazed over her water glass at Seto with an inquisitive look in her large green eyes. "Seto, why do people think that I'm your girlfriend?"

Seto set down his chopsticks abruptly and whispered harshly, "Not so loud! There are a bunch of jerks here, and if they find out that you are single… you are single, right?"

Serenity nodded.

"Good. Let's keep it that way. CEOs may have lots of money, but otherwise make rotten husbands. Do you know why Mrs. Jones is so obese?"

Serenity shook her head.

"Her husband rarely pays any attention to her, so she eats _all_ the time when he is not around. At least, that's what she started doing right after she found out that he could not get her pregnant."

A look of distress crossed Serenity's face. "Is the life of a CEO really that dismal?"

Something deep inside Seto stirred when he looked at his friend. It was as if she had something of value that she could give him; something more valuable than all the gold in the world. Suddenly, he realized what he had been missing for so many years. All he wanted was to see happiness light up her face like it had on so many prior occasions. All he needed to do was to lift the veil of darkness that had descended upon her since she had stepped into this dreadful mansion. He reached out a firm hand and laid it on top of her trembling one. Her delicate fingers quivered beneath his strong ones as he spoke. "It doesn't need to be that way, Serenity. Ever since we became friend, you have been slowly teaching me the true meaning of life. Just seeing you smile brightens my world. Now that you are in my life, I don't know what I would do with without you."

Serenity saw that Seto's cold blue eyes had gone completely soft. What started as nothing more than a juvenile bet between her brother and his arch rival had evolved into something real. A soft song with a seductive beat played in the background, and Serenity felt her body pulsing to it as she gazed at the handsome twenty year-old CEO before her.

_Fortunately you have got  
>Someone who relies on you<br>We started out as friends  
>But the thought of you just caves me in<br>The symptoms are so deep  
>It is so much too late to turn away<br>We started out as friends_

Serenity smiled, and if any residual crystals of ice still clung to Seto's heart, they melted away instantly. "Shall we dance?" he asked.

Serenity's smile broadened. "I would be honored."

Seto took her small hand in his and let her away from the dining area, leaving their half-eaten plates of food lying on the table.

_Sign your name  
>Across my heart<br>I want you to be my baby  
>Sign your name<br>Across my heart  
>I want you to be my lady<em>

Seto Kaiba rarely danced, but he had learned enough in private lessons as a child to put on a good show for the other guests at the gala. They watched in fascination as he twirled his beautiful auburn-haired date around the dance floor.

_Time I'm sure will bring  
>Disappointments in so many things<br>It seems to be the way  
>When your gambling cards on love you play<br>I'd rather be in Hell with you baby  
>Than in cool Heaven<br>It seems to be the way_

Serenity had learned how to dance from Tea, and found it easy to keep pace with Seto.

_birds never look into the sun  
>before the day is done<br>but oh the light shines brighter  
>on a peaceful day<br>stranger blue leaves us alone  
>we don't want to deal with you<br>we'll shed our stains showering  
>in the room that makes the rain<em>

_all alone with you  
>makes the butterflies in me arise<br>slowly we make love  
>and the earth rotates<br>to our dictates  
>slowly we make love<em>

After the slow song ended, a faster, more upbeat song took its place. Eager for a good excuse to avoid talking to more CEOs, both Seto and Serenity remained on the dance floor, increasing the speed of their movements to match the rhythm of the song. They lost themselves in the music and wound up staying on the dance floor for several more songs, at which point they both had to stop for a while to catch their breaths.

They made their way out onto a grand balcony that overlooked a small garden with a gazebo and several rose bushes. Kaiba saw Mr. Pattel leading a young red-head towards the gazebo and silently thanked the heavens that its thin trellis walls were completely covered with ivy so that Serenity would not be exposed to the lewd acts that Pattel tended to perform with his dates.

"Seto?" Serenity asked cautiously.

"Yes?" the CEO replied.

"I still don't quite understand why you are going to buy Ecuador if you don't even want it in the first place."

Seto sighed and gazed into the darkness beyond the small garden. "Bakura has some hair-brained scheme to end all war, and apparently he thinks the best way to do that is for every CEO in the world to buy the warring countries and force them to make peace with each other."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Not necessarily."

"Why not?"

Seto Kaiba searched his mind for the right words to say. They were about to broach a topic that Kaiba preferred to keep out of his thoughts. Even though he had done some horrible things when he first took over his step-father's company, he tried to avoid repeating the same actions that had almost lost him the respect and admiration of his little brother Mokuba. Now, with his heightened sense of how important Serenity was to him, he found it difficult to utter the cold, hard facts that most CEOs faced every day. However, she was patiently awaiting his response, and he had to start somewhere. "If CEOs ruled counties, they would no longer be subject to all the rules and regulations that are currently enforced on them. Minimum wage laws would be a thing of the past, and environmental protections would go completely out the window."

Serenity looked at Seto in alarm. "So, if you bought Ecuador and sold it to Bestle, he would cut down all the rainforest to grow cocoa?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Serenity shivered against the cold night air. Seto took off his dinner jacket and draped it around her shoulders. Serenity stared into the dark abyss beyond the garden while she pondered Seto's words. She thought of how her father made minimum wage working in the uranium mines and how it had barely been enough to support the Wheeler family. Luckily, after his health failed, their father's social security benefits kicked in to support his children through the completion of their high school educations. Without all the protections that their government currently offered, Serenity wondered how many families like hers would suffer needlessly while the Schroeders, the Bestles, the Pattels, the Cleins, and the Joneses lined their pockets with more money than they would ever need. "Seto, I'd like to go home now."

"Good. We've stayed here long enough." Seto put his arm around Serenity's shoulder and guided her through the crowd of CEOs. Serenity's eyes darted over them as she passed them as if she was afraid that they would turn into snakes and bite her.

At last, Serenity found herself in the safety of Seto's limo with the only CEO in the world that she still trusted. Even though he had told her some horrible things, she appreciated his honesty. Sitting beside him on the plush leather seat, she got a strange feeling that he would protect her from the word's tumult and strife. It was an unspoken promise that he had made to her when he looked into her innocent green eyes and saw a piece of his brother in her. Serenity laid her soft head against his lean shoulder and listened to the steady sound of his breath.

Seto Kaiba looked down at the girl who propped herself up against him. Moments ago, her eyes were darting around in fear from the sudden revelation that she was surrounded by men who would squash thousands of innocent people like her for a few extra million units of currency. Did she not know that he also played dirty from time to time? Pangs of guilt struck Seto's heart as he gazed upon the angelic contours of her face. He had given the workers in his factories a pay raise and health benefits due to new laws that the Japanese legislature passed two years ago, but he knew in his heart that he could do so much more to improve their working conditions and reduce the chance that they would be injured on the job. However, he never got around to making those improvements. Unskilled workers were easy to replace. At least, they were easy to replace until Serenity told him the story of how her father labored in the uranium mines half his life and wound up with cancer as a result. Seto closed his eyes and silently vowed to himself to run his company in the most ethical way that he could while minimally indulging in the ludicrous demands that Bakura imposed on him.

**Closing Note:** Many economists think that a minimum wage is a really stupid idea because all it does is drive inflation and I tend to agree with them. However, I think that the solution is to implement a maximum wage so that people at the top don't get too greedy.

**Call for Creativity:** If anyone feels inspired to do an AMV, a drawing, or other art project on Seto and Serenity or anything else in my stories, I would love to see it! My talents simply do not lie in these forms of media, so I greatly admire anyone who has visual art skills.

**Don't forget to submit your OC guesses!**


	16. Mail

**Author's Note:** This is another OC Chapter

**Chapter 16 Mail**

When Joan Saunders and Tamara Rakitan arrived home from school, Mrs. Rakitan greeted them with a letter in her hand. "Joan, it's for you," she said kindly.

Joan took the letter from her guardian and sat down on a soft green couch in the living room to read it. Tam sat beside her, and Joan held the letter between them so that she could read it as well. The return address on the envelope stated that it was from Sergeant Sean Carson, and Joan's hands trembled a little as she opened it. Even though it had been over a year since Sean had first contacted her with the awful news about her father's death, the memory of his first phone call was still fresh in her mind. Joan unfolded the letter, and a small photograph tumbled out onto the floor.

Tam picked up the picture and examined it. A broad-shouldered man with flaming red hair and chocolate brown eyes stared back at her. He wore the uniform of Japan's army, and an automatic weapon hung at his side. "Hey! He's _cute_!" Tam commented.

Joan looked over the photograph. The only thought that crossed her mind was how such a strong and tough soldier could let her father die. Joan shrugged and started reading the hand-written letter.

Dear Joan,

Thank you for sending me your photograph. You definitely have your father's hair and his smile. One day I hope to meet you in person. There are rumors among the men that we might be sent home for Christmas, but the older soldiers say it is never going to happen. They say that Japan's government has spent enough money on us already, and they are not going to waste any more money to send us all the way home and back out here again.

On a brighter note, let's talk about you. I am glad to hear that your studies are going well, and I hope you make it into Tokyo University with all of your friends. I joined the army as soon as I got out of high school, and looking back I wish that I had thought about it more carefully. I don't know what else I would have done, but I'm glad that you have something in mind. So, what do you want to study in college? What about your friends?

Sincerely,

Sean Carson

Joan stared at the letter with a heavy heart. No matter how friendly Sean's letters were, nothing could take away the pain of losing her father. Tam nudged Joan gently. "Hey! Are you going to just stare at that all day or are you going to write something back to him?"

Joan laid Sean's letter on the coffee table and put her head in her hands. "You write to him. I can't do it anymore, and I really don't see the point anyway."

Tam looked from her best friend to the photo of the handsome soldier. "So… should I sign your name or mine?"

Joan shrugged.

Tam unzipped her backpack and dug inside it for a pen and a piece of paper. She uncapped the pen, set the paper on the coffee table, and wrote the salutation. Then, she stopped. Her pen hovered over the paper and she glanced at Joan. "Um… he will probably notice that it's not the same handwriting, so I guess I should sign my name."

"Whatever," Joan replied.

Tam started writing again.

Dear Sean,

Thank you for writing and sending your photo. Joan is feeling under the weather today, so I am writing this letter for her. My name is Tamara, but most people just call me Tam. I am very close to Joan. She would never admit it, but I think that getting your letters helps her, so please keep writing. It will take some time for her to heal, and hopefully she will be the one writing to you next time. In the meantime, I can tell you about some of the exciting things that are happening in Japan.

We just elected a new Prime Minister who wants to end the war. Our good friend Adam did a background check on him, and it looks like he really intends to follow through with his campaign promises. With any luck, you'll be home for Christmas and you can stay for good.

Speaking of politics, Joan wants to study political science and eventually go to law school. I want to double-major in psychology and martial arts, but I think I'll be better at martial arts, so psychology might just be a minor for me. Jessica wants to study art history, and Katie wants to study music or theater. Adam is a total computer geek, so I'm pretty sure that he is going for computer science.

Joan and I were wondering a few things about you. What is your favorite food? When is your birthday? Do you have someone special at home? Anyway, we hope to hear back from you soon!

Sincerely,

Tamara Rakitan

Without showing the letter to Joan, Tam sealed it in an envelope and started addressing it. "Hey! Don't I at least get to see what you wrote?" Joan protested as Tam put a stamp on the letter.

A little smirk played across Tam's lips. "I thought you weren't interested in him anymore."

"Yeah, but if you are writing on my behalf, I'd at least like to know what you said."

Tam's smirk broadened into a smile. Joan was re-gaining her curiosity, and that was a good sign. "You'll just have to wait for Sean's next letter."

"Come on, Tam! What if he never gets to write another letter? He could be blown away at any second." Joan reached for the letter but Tam pulled it away playfully. Joan tried again, but Tam dodged her easily. After dancing around the room like this for a few minutes, Tam bolted out the door and Joan followed. Tam sprinted out to the mailbox and Joan tried desperately to catch her. However, Tam reached the mailbox first and stuffed the letter inside. Joan reached the mailbox panting and leaned against it while she caught her breath. "That… was… not… fair."

Tam, who was not the slightest bit winded, laughed. "Hey! At least I got you to care about something again."

Joan looked her best friend in the face and knew instantly that she was right. Ever since Joan's father died, all her actions had been purely mechanical. Even when she did something extracurricular, it was simply a task to be completed to satisfy the expectations of her friends and guardians. However, by taking charge and writing to Sean with such enthusiasm, Tam had re-awakened Joan's passion for life. She saw the blue color of the sky above the red brick of their house as if it was for the first time.

**Closing Note**: The OC that duels is mentioned in this chapter, too. The contest is still open, so…

I am also wondering how many of you have actually written a real letter and mailed it. I had a pen pal back in elementary school pretty much as soon as I knew how to write. I lost touch with her, but I still use good old snail mail for thank-you notes and any time I want to be send something really personal. A real, physical letter is like a gift that you can give someone when you don't have much money to spend. However, letter writing seems to be a lost art. I had a job once where I had to teach some people only two or three years younger than me how to address an envelope. I was very surprised that none of them knew. If you are one of the few people who knows, you are totally awesome!


	17. Vacation or…

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Handlebars" by Flobots or "Start of the Breakdown" by Tears for Fears

**Chapter 17 Vacation or…**

A few days later, Serenity was studying with Mokuba in his office when they heard Seto bellow in outrage behind the door that separated their offices. Mokuba set down the yellow highlighter that he was holding and walked up to the door. He opened it a crack and peeked into Seto's office. Drawn by curiosity, Serenity put down her schoolwork and peeked into Seto's office as well.

Seto was standing behind his desk with his chair pushed far behind him and his fingertips resting on either side of his keyboard. His hunched forward, glaring at someone that neither Serenity nor Mokuba could see. "I swear, Jones. If you fire one single laser at Domino High I will personally see to it that you die a slow and painful death."

"Stop being so unreasonable, Kaiba. Just take your brother and your girlfriend out of school for a few days," a familiar voice replied.

Mokuba and Serenity flinched at the word, "girlfriend," but continued to watch the conversation without interrupting.

"I think that Pegasus should try running Japan on his own before running to you for help," Seto replied.

"Like you're going to run Ecuador on your own?" Jones said with a laugh.

"I told you already that I traded Ecuador for five pieces of choice land where I can build dueling schools," Seto growled.

"That's my point exactly. You don't know what it takes to subdue a large population, so you chickened out and traded Ecuador for uninhabited land. So, take your little brother and your precious girlfriend on a little vacation to that cute little island you bought while the big boys take care of the world. If it makes you feel any better, I'll send my wife with you. She has developed a fondness for Miss Wheeler."

Mokuba and Serenity both inhaled sharply, alerting the two CEOs to their presence. Seto turned to look at the door that joined his office with Mokuba's, and the two teenage eavesdroppers immediately closed it and backed away, letting the adults finish their conversation privately.

Mokuba paced the room fretfully, wringing his hands while Serenity attempted to concentrate on her biology textbook and failed. She kept looking up at Mokuba and thinking that he looked ready to explode. Several times, Mokuba paused and looked at Serenity with his mouth open and a question in his dark violet eyes, but each time no sound escaped his lips. There were so many things he wanted to say, but nothing seemed like the right thing to say _first_.

At last, the door to Seto's office swung open and Seto Kaiba stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. "Pack your bags. We're going to go build Duel Academy," he said.

A hundred questions burst from the lips of the two teenagers. Their words mangled each other as their voices rose, fighting to be heard. Then, one final phrase rang out clearly from both of them at the same time: "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't realize I had to report everything to my girlfriend and my little brother," Seto replied.

Serenity blinked. "Did you just…?"

"You two pack. I'm going back to work," Seto said as he turned back into his office and shut the door behind him.

Serenity stared at the door while Mokuba's eyes darted between her and the door. "So… That's it?" Mokuba asked, not knowing what else to say.

Serenity felt that she should say something, but nothing came to her mind, either. Serenity gingerly picked up her biology textbook again and tried to concentrate.

A mixture of unsettled emotions crossed Mokuba's face, and he started pacing the room again while Serenity watched. On the one hand, Mokuba had always expected that his brother would be the first one to get a girlfriend. On the other hand, he expected Seto to fall for a more mature woman who had already completed high school; certainly not one of his classmates! _Why did she have to be Serenity? Why couldn't she have been someone I didn't know that well? I thought I actually might have a chance with her someday, but it looks like I just missed it. What happened to Tristan? _ "Why am I always the last person to find out? I bet Joey already knows!"

"Joey doesn't have a clue yet, and I don't think it would be a good idea to tell him just yet," Serenity said.

Mokuba's head snapped towards Serenity. He hadn't realized that he was thinking out loud, and he wondered how much she had heard. An involuntary blush crossed his cheeks as he looked at her and thought of all the things he hoped that he had not said out loud. If his brother was happy with Serenity, there was no way that he could jeopardize Seto's happiness over a selfish pursuit. "Um… OK. I'll keep that in mind," Mokuba said before resuming his pacing. This time, he bit his lower lip so that he would not accidentally let any of his thoughts slip out.

Serenity watched thoughtfully as the black-haired boy plodded back and forth across the rich navy blue carpet. _Could he be any more obvious?_ Serenity felt pity for her classmate rise in her heart, but she knew better than to act on it. She had been just as shocked as Mokuba when she heard the word "girlfriend" fall from Seto's lips, but she could not deny the appeal of the concept. Even if the title was just an honorary one that Seto had given her out of courtesy to protect her from the other CEOs, Serenity enjoyed reveling in the fantasy. However, she was not having any fun watching Mokuba pace back and forth endlessly.

"So… what's this Duel Academy thing?" Serenity asked timidly.

Mokuba stopped his pacing and touched a button on his office phone that connected him with his secretary. "Ms. Brown, please bring me all the files on Duel Academy."

"Understood, Mr. Kaiba," came the sterile reply.

Mokuba turned back to Serenity. "Duel Academy is a concept that popped into my head when we were building Kaiba Land. Seto thought that it would be a worthy undertaking, but we shelved the idea because we did not have a good place to build it at the time."

The door opposite the one that joined Mokuba's office to Seto's opened, and a stern woman in a dark brown suit entered carrying a thick stack of files with both hands. She placed them on Mokuba's desk, then turned and left without saying a word. Serenity shuddered as soon as the secretary disappeared. "What's with her?"

Mokuba shrugged. "She does her job. Nothing more, nothing less."

Serenity tried to shake the image of the tight-lipped secretary from her mind. She pulled her leather chair closer to Mokuba's desk and reached for the top file on the stack, which was labeled "Blueprints." She flipped it open and found designs for two dormitories, a miniature card shop, and several lecture halls. All of the sketches were labeled "incomplete sample."

Serenity looked up at Mokuba. "So, Seto is actually going to go through with this project?"

"That's what he said," Mokuba replied.

Serenity opened the next file in the stack, which was labeled "Curriculum." After leafing through its contents, she looked up at Mokuba again. "So, you're just going to do away with traditional high school classes and teach them how to play Duel Monsters for three years?"

"Not quite. We're still going to teach history, math, literature, and science. We're just going to do it all within the context of Duel Monsters so that the students stay interested."

"What about a health program and physical education?" Serenity asked.

"Hmm… I guess we could build some tennis courts and a baseball diamond to keep the students in good shape. You know, there's a lot of stuff we have not considered yet. I'm glad you're coming along to help us plan it," Mokuba replied.

Serenity smiled. "Well, it looks like a lot of fun!"

Serenity picked up the next file in the stack, which read "Entry Requirements" and then discussed with Mokuba the advantages of giving applicants a practical duel-based exam in addition to a written exam.

**Closing Note: **Keep guessing on the OC duelist. The prize is still available! I probably did not give enough hints, so let's put it this way. People who work and live in harsh environments often do not have much in the way of entertainment, so a deck helps them pass the time. Nowadays they are switching to smart phones, but decks are still not as easy to break, are less expensive to replace when they do get ruined, and do not need to be recharged.


	18. Evacuation

**Author's Note:** Congratulations to Echo Adams for guessing correctly that Sean is the OC duelist! The chapter with her character will appear at a later time, so just enjoy for now!

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Eve of Destruction," by Barry McGuire

**Warnings:** Brief language

**Chapter 18 Evacuation**

Joey paced the living room of the Wheeler residence while Serenity stood by the front door with her suitcase fully packed. He had just returned from work, and had not yet changed out of his blue coveralls. Black grease caked the underside of his fingernails and dried sweat matted his messy blond hair. "Serenity, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he raged.

Serenity blinked and clutched the handle of her suitcase. "Seto says that Domino High School won't be safe for a couple of days. He knows things, Joey. Some really weird stuff is about to happen."

Joey threw his hands into the air and looked at Mai, who was sitting on the living room sofa, for help. Her white corset and purple jacket were slightly soiled from hugging Joey when he first walked in the door, but otherwise her grooming was immaculate.

Mai shrugged and addressed Serenity. "Did you ask your teachers if you can get some of your make-up work in advance?"

Serenity shook her head. "No, but Mokuba says that we can get our teachers to e-mail us everything we need, print it out, scan it, and e-mail it back to them."

Mai's violet eyes widened like those of a kid in a candy store. "Oh my God! You _have_ to go, hun! This is the opportunity of a lifetime! You get to see the world _and_ keep up with your educ-"

"—Ah, hem!" Joey interrupted. He crossed him arms and glared down at Mai.

Mai continued talking in a slightly more subdued, but still excited tone. "I'm sorry babe, but it's true! I had to choose between traveling and getting an education. Sometimes I wish I had finished high school, but I don't regret my decision to travel. It made me who I am today. Serenity gets to experience the best of both worlds. Don't deny her that opportunity." Mai leaned forward and batted her eyelashes at Joey. "Come on! It will be good for her. Besides, what if Kaiba is right about Domino High?"

Joey looked from his girlfriend to his sister, and felt his resolve failing against their pleading stares. After a few seconds, he completely forgot the reason why he had objected to Serenity's trip in the first place. "All right, but keep your cell-phone charged and call me every night."

"Thank you, Joey!" Serenity cried with glee. She threw her arms around Joey and hugged him tightly, picking up trace amounts of grease on her Wingweaver T-shirt. She then hugged Mai and picked up her suitcase, waving to both of them as she walked out the door and skipped merrily down the walkway to the silently waiting electric limo.

Seto's driver opened the door for Serenity and took her suitcase from her. He placed it in the trunk while Serenity took a seat between the two Kaiba brothers, then turned on the motor and headed towards Domino's airport.

Seto sat with his laptop on his knees reading over his company's latest financial reports. He looked up briefly as Serenity joined him. "What took you so long?"

"My brother didn't want me to go," Serenity replied.

Seto let out a short vocalization that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a snort, then took on a more serious expression. "By the time this trip is over, he'll be wishing he came with us."

Serenity blinked. "Seto, what exactly is going on? Is Joey going to be in any danger?"

"Not if he stays inside when _it_ happens."

"When _what_ happens?" Serenity cried in exasperation.

Seto stared blankly out the window for a few seconds while Mokuba spoke. "Every single government all over the world is going to pay off its war debt by selling itself to a CEO on the condition that all the CEOs bring about world peace. We expect there to be a lot of unrest when this happens. Since institutions of learning tend to be strongholds for rebellions, all CEOs with family members in college or high school have been advised to take family vacations. Seto explained it all to me while we were waiting for you."

Serenity gasped and looked at the tall CEO. "You think that people will riot so much they'll hurt each other?"

Seto Kaiba slowly turned his head towards her as if every degree it rotated sent agonizing screams of pain through his body. His electric blue eyes shone with the determination of a man who had lost a battle, but would not give up fighting the war. "No," he said without elaborating.

Serenity could not understand why he was being so vague. Something inside her told her that she did not want to know, but would find out what he meant eventually. As Serenity gazed up at him, a chill surged through her body. She shuddered visibly, and Seto set his laptop aside to hold her. She leaned into him gratefully. Mokuba watched the scene awkwardly, fiddling with the zipper of his backpack, which lay on the floor at his feet.

Mokuba opened it at last and took out a blue plastic folder with a bunch of papers inside. He took two of them out and cleared his throat. "Hey Serenity, I printed out a few copies of our Japanese History homework. You're taking that class second period, right?"

Serenity disengaged herself from Seto and turned around to see Mokuba waving two pieces of paper in front of her. She shot a quick smile back at Seto before taking one of the pages out of Mokuba's hand. She scrutinized it for a few seconds before saying, "Yes! That's the right class. Well, I guess we should get to work."

Mokuba and Serenity took out their pencils and started working on their homework while Seto went back to working on his laptop. Before long, the limo pulled onto the tarmac of a small airport and the driver got out to open the door while workers dressed in fluorescent orange vests hauled their luggage out of the trunk and into an icy blue jet that was painted to resemble a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Although Seto Kaiba took pleasure in piloting his own aircraft during his teenage years, he found it impractical for business trips, especially when he wanted to bring an extra passenger or work on his laptop en route to his destination.

Seto shut his laptop and carried it under his arm while he walked onto the jet. Mokuba and Serenity followed him without a word, carrying their school papers. They all settled into their seats and got back to work as the plane prepared for take-off. Serenity admired the plane's luxurious white leather interior and fancy amenities for a few moments, but from the look of concentration on Seto's face, she decided that it would be inappropriate to comment. She set her homework down on one of the tables and silently worked on it while the jet took flight.

A few hours later, the jet landed on a patch of dirt at the base of a large volcano. A lush forest surrounded the patch of dirt. If Serenity had been looking out the window ten minutes before they landed, she would have seen that the volcano had formed a rather large island.

Seto shut down his laptop and set it aside. A smirk played across his lips as he watched the two teenagers ogle the beautiful forest from the windows of the jet. "Welcome to the future home of Duel Academy," he announced.


	19. Island Adventures

**Music Lover's Alert: **"Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz followed by "Always Something There" by Naked Eyes.

**Chapter 19 Island Adventures**

As soon as Serenity and the Kaiba brothers stepped off the jet, they were greeted by a geologist wearing sturdy brown leather boots, tan-colored cargo pants, a dark green shirt, and a tan bucket hat. A little bit of black hair poked out from under his hat and his olivine eyes almost matched Serenity's. He extended a hand in greeting, which Mokuba and Serenity shook, but Seto ignored. Seemingly undisturbed by his employer's coldness, the geologist enthusiastically introduced himself, "Hi folks! My name is Pete Aquitard, and I have been surveying your island over the past few days. Please come inside. I have prepared a GIS model from GPS readings, soil samples, and satellite images."

Pete led Seto, Mokuba, and Serenity to a temporary building about the size of a small house. Inside, there was an office with a steel desk and several neatly labeled boxes full of tubes which contained rock and soil samples from all over the island. Serenity and the Kaibas each took a seat in a folding chair in front of the desk while the geologist sat behind the desk and turned on his laptop.

Seto turned to his younger brother. "Watch closely. This is not a vacation. It is a business trip for me and an educational experience for you."

Mokuba pouted briefly, but nodded while Serenity glanced around the room with interest. The room had fewer tools than she imagined a geologist would need. Instead of an array of picks and microscopes, there was one portable machine for collecting samples and one large stationary machine for analyzing them. The samples themselves were contained in clear plastic tubes and neatly organized in boxes with labels to identify where they were taken.

As Pete waited for his computer to complete its start-up sequence, he said, "I really think that you should get a biologist down here as well. This island has an amazing array of plant and animal life. It even has monkeys. Monkeys! Do you realize how rare that is on a volcanic island like this? I mean, birds can migrate out here easily enough, but monkeys? They don't usually swim-"

"—Aquitard, just do your job," Seto ordered.

"Right, sir." Pete pressed a few buttons on his laptop, then rotated it to face his employer. A multi-colored map of the island displayed on the screen. "These colors represent different types of soil. Some of them are better for building on than others. Unfortunately, the structure that is already here rests on a type of rock that erodes easily."

"There's already a structure here?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," Mokuba confirmed, "We believe it to be the old manor of the island's original owner. The place is huge and has lots of rooms. Seto and I were thinking that it would make a good dormitory."

The geologist shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that building may not last very long. It's fine now, but in five or ten years the foundation will crack and you'll have to abandon it. If you decide to use it as a dormitory, you will probably want to conduct routine inspections on it every six months to make sure it is still safe for the students. It would be disastrous if the foundation cracked while the students were still inside. Part of the building could collapse and trap them there."

Seto crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't really care, Aquitard. We are going to build more dorms anyway. Just show me what our options are."

Pete muttered an apology and turned his laptop back towards himself. After pressing a few buttons and toggling a few features to simplify the map, he turned it back towards his employer. The map now appeared in patches of green, yellow, and red surrounded by a blue ocean. Pete pointed to the largest patch of green. "That is where you'll want to build the main campus. According to the specs you sent me, all of your lecture halls will be able to fit here. As for the dorms, you can put them in any of these places." Pete's fingers danced over the other green spots on the map.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it, Aquitard?" Seto said in a condescending tone. "Now, print out a copy of that map so that we can go see those places."

"As you wish," Pete replied. He quickly plugged his computer into a printer with a USB cable and printed out a copy of the map. While it was being printed, he grabbed a GPS reader and put it in a backpack along with a few bottles of water and other supplies. "The forest is quite dense in some places, so it may take several hours to traverse the island."

"Just show me the sites that are closest to the main campus. I'm not planning to develop the whole island," the CEO stated.

Pete strapped his backpack over his shoulders, and then looked over the footwear of his hiking companions. Mokuba and Serenity wore white tennis shoes while Seto sported a pair of slick black leather boots that looked like they were designed more for show than they were for hiking. "Sir, do you wish to change first?"

In response, Seto simply narrowed his eyes.

"Your call. Well, let's get moving!" Pete said cheerfully.

Serenity and the Kaibas stood and followed Pete out the door. Serenity gave Mokuba a worried glance. She was not prepared to go on a long hike, but Seto seemed pretty confident that it would be all right. After all, he knew more about the island than either of them.

Pete led them into a dense forest, carefully picking his way around trees and ferns. He followed approximately the same path he had taken to collect soil samples, so in some places the limbs of the trees were already broken and pushed aside. Pete looked down at his GPS reader frequently as they walked. At last, the stopped and declared, "We're here!"

Mokuba blinked and looked around the densely wooded area. His formerly white shoes were caked with brown mud and scratched from thorny shrubs that they had passed. "Seto, what do you think? Seto?"

Several paces behind him, his older brother and Serenity struggled to catch up. Their shoes were in poor condition as well, and various seed pods clung to their hair. "I think we need to build a real trail to this place. Maybe even a concrete walkway," Seto panted.

"Yeah," Serenity agreed, "I don't see how students could walk through this mess every single day."

Seeing that his older brother was too tired to be very useful, Mokuba consulted with the geologist about some of the features in the area. Pete took out his map and pointed out that there was a source of fresh water as well as a natural hot spring nearby. The hot spring could potentially feed a large pool, making it the perfect location to build a luxury dormitory.

When Seto and Serenity recovered, they paced the area with Pete to determine how large the ground floor could be. With they were doing so, a monkey swung down from one of the trees and stole Pete's hat. The geologist yelled something profane at the monkey while the monkey repeatedly held the hat just out of reach and pulled it away as Pete lunged for it. Seto and Mokuba laughed at the monkey's antics while Pete cried out in frustration.

After a while, Pete gave up trying to get his hat back and sat down on a rock with a glum expression on his face. Serenity approached the monkey slowly and called out in a sweet voice, "OK little guy, you've had your fun. Now, why don't you give Pete's hat back? Come on!"

Lured by the sweet honey of her voice, the monkey dropped not only the hat, but his whole body down into Serenity's waiting arms. Pete and the Kaiba brothers stared in awe as the monkey placed the geologist's tan-colored hat on top Serenity's messy auburn hair and then nestled himself between her breasts.

"Um… Serenity, you realize that's a real monkey and not a mechanical avatar with a person's brain controlling it, right?" Seto asked.

Sudden memories of her ex-boyfriend flashed through Serenity's mind. There he was in Noah's virtual world, trapped in the body of a robotic monkey because he had sacrificed himself in a duel to save her. Serenity shook the thoughts from her mind. Gone were the days when she and Tristan would stare into each other's eyes over a milkshake or a deck of cards. Now, she was staring into the electric blue eyes of a tall CEO who had somehow managed to stay sexy despite how many twigs his brown hair had acquired over the course of the long hike that they had just taken together. "Yes Seto, I know the difference between a real monkey and a fake one," she stated.

"Good," Seto replied, "Then you know we can't take him back with us."

Serenity spoke to the little primate in her arms. "Sorry little guy, but you've got to go now. Go back to your family. I bet they're missing you."

The monkey looked up at Serenity with sad, pleading eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll visit you again someday," Serenity promised.

The monkey brightened and jumped out of Serenity's arms at last. He landed gracefully on a low-hanging tree branch, then bounded away through the wilderness.

"We should head back to the camp before dark," Pete recommended.

"What about the manor?" Mokuba asked, "The structure is still sound, right?"

The geologist nodded.

"Well, let's stay there tonight!" Mokuba suggested.

Seto smiled slightly. "Yes, that sounds much more appealing than staying in one of those temporary shacks we brought with us." Seto touched a button on the collar of his trench coat and spoke into it. "Roland, drop off our luggage at the manor. We will be staying there tonight."

After Seto received confirmation that his orders would be put into effect, Pete led them back along the path from which they had come for about a kilometer, and then veered off in a different direction. As they walked, the sunlight that was filtering through the trees slowly faded until they could barely see where they were going. Serenity stumbled over a tree root and landed on top of Seto, who was walking directly in front of her. Seto let out a yell of surprise as he too crashed down to the earth in the darkness. Pete heard the commotion behind him and stopped. He pulled off his backpack and started digging through it for a flashlight. However, it eluded him for several minutes.

While the geologist fumbled with his equipment, Seto discovered that the sensation of having a sixteen year-old girl on top of him was not unpleasant. In fact, he felt a warm, tingly feeling building inside of him. Seto caught a whiff of strawberry scented conditioner emanating from the matted, but still soft hair that dangled around his face before she apologized and rolled off him. She attempted to stand, but yelped in pain as an over-stretched ligament in her ankle refused to hold her weight and sent her crashing back down to the earth beside Seto. This time, Seto caught her intentionally as she fell and drew her body close to his own in one smooth motion. Serenity suddenly realized how cold the forest was compared to Seto's warm body and snuggled into the folds of his trench coat as he wrapped his arms around her. She listened to the rapid beat of his heart for what seemed like an eternity until a bright light shone down into their faces.

"Don't give up now," Pete said in a friendly tone, "The manor is not far from here."

Seto and Serenity blinked as their pupils constricted and their eyes slowly adjusted to the abundant light. The faces of Pete and Mokuba came into focus as they looked up.

"I… I don't think I can walk," Serenity said weakly.

Mokuba's brow knitted with concern. "Seto, what did you do to her?"

The older Kaiba brother looked up at the younger one with a placid, controlled expression. "Why are you so worried about my girlfriend, Mokuba?"

An eerie tension filled the space between the Kaiba brothers until Serenity broke it by saying, "It wasn't Seto's fault. I just tripped and I think I sprained my ankle."

The geologist shined the flashlight down Serenity's leg until it came to rest on her ankles. Although they were covered by the fabric of her socks, he could see that one was slightly larger than the other. "Oh my! We should get her back to the manor ASAP and ice it before it gets any worse. Here, take this for the swelling," Pete said. With the aid of his flashlight, Pete quickly found the first aid kit in his backpack and took out two reddish brown pills. He offered them to Serenity along with a bottle of water.

Serenity disentangled herself from Seto and sat up straight, then gratefully accepted the pills and swallowed them. Seto got to his feed and offered Serenity help getting to hers. Supported by Seto and her one good ankle, Serenity took a few wobbly steps. Mokuba observed their pitiful progress and asked, "Seto, when was the last time you went to the gym?"

"Never," the tall, lanky CEO replied.

"It shows," his younger brother commented.

Mokuba got on the other side of Serenity and let her lean on him for support. Serenity was surprised to feel how firm Mokuba's shoulder felt compared to his older brother's, but decided not to comment. With Mokuba's aid, walking became much easier. The three of them settled into a steady, rhythmic sequence of motions that propelled them forward for several minutes. They followed Pete until they reached a yellow building that was surrounded by a cast-iron fence. A blue dome in the center of the manor arched gracefully over a three-story section, and two two-story wings sat on either side of it.

"Wow! What a sight for sore eyes!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Yeah! This is going to be Duel Academy's first dorm. Come on! Let's take a look inside," Mokuba urged.

The two brothers helped Serenity into the manor while Pete held the doors open for them. Once inside, they found Roland waiting for them with their things.

"Mr. Kaiba," the aging servant said, "The previous occupant of this manor left behind some furniture. I hope you find it to your liking."

"At this point, I really don't care," said the exhausted CEO.

Seto and Mokuba helped Serenity into a room with a large bed and set her down on it. Then, with some first-aid advice from Pete, Roland brought her some ice and elevated her foot.

"Shouldn't we bring a real doctor in here for her?" Mokuba asked.

"Not at all! It's just a little sprain. I'll be fine without a doctor," Serenity insisted.

"How do you know?" Seto questioned her as he took a seat on the bed beside her.

"One of the nurses at the hospital told me all about sprains when I was visiting my dad," Serenity replied, "Most of the people who arrive at the hospital with a sprain get sent straight home after a quick examination. It just ties up valuable time that could be spent on other patients."

Seto glanced at Pete, who nodded in agreement. "OK. Get out of here," Seto ordered. Pete turned and left immediately, but Mokuba lingered. "You, too." With a sad, dejected look, Mokuba followed the geologist out the door.

Seto looked at Serenity with a strange smile that she had never seen him wear before. "Um… Seto? Why did you…"

Before Serenity could finish her sentence, Seto leaned over her and crushed his lips against hers. Serenity was too surprised to react at first, but quickly found that the sensation of his hot mouth felt too good to resist. Her hands trailed their way up to the back of his head, and his twig-filled brown hair slipped through her fingers. It felt so different from the stiff, overly gelled spike that Tristan wore. Serenity gripped the CEO's scalp and drew his face closer to hers. As the pressure between their lips increased, so did the pleasure that they both experienced.

After what seemed like hours, they fell away from each other panting. When Serenity re-gained her breath, she said, "So you actually meant it when you called me your girlfriend?"

"What did you think I meant?" Seto replied with a smirk.

"It's just that you never show your feelings."

"I never had the chance."

"You had plenty of chances."

"Serenity, I wasn't about to kiss you in front of my brother."

"My brother kissed his girlfriend in front of me."

"I'm not your brother."

Serenity giggled. It suddenly dawned on her that different people might follow completely different rules when it came to love. It also dawned on her that following silly little rules like when people were allowed to kiss could keep two soul mates apart indefinitely.

"What's so funny?"

"If _I_ kissed _you_ in front of your brother, would you stop me?" Serenity asked.

"No."

Serenity smiled happily and leaned over to steal another kiss from the handsome CEO.

**Closing Note:** In case you did not catch it or you are not too familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Serenity and the Kaibas are staying at the abandoned dorm. They also met Wheeler the monkey, but did not name him yet. I don't actually deal with Wheeler later, though. He just had a little cameo here.

Pete Aquitard is a name that I came up with by looking through my old geology textbooks. I don't have much more use for him in the future, so if anybody needs a geologist for a story, you are welcome to have him.

Don't forget to review!


	20. Accident

**Music Lover's Alert:** "What if you Knew?" David Rovics

**Chapter 20 Accident**

Serenity and Mokuba sat on the front porch of Duel Academy's first dorm in a pair of wicker chairs with white cushions. A light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees in the surrounding forest. Seto Kaiba had assigned the two high schoolers to scope out and test various study locations while Pete and a few architects worked on designing a set of lecture halls and some new dormitories.

Although Serenity's ankle still made it difficult for her to walk, it had already improved significantly over the past few days. Instead of using crutches, she had learned to rely on the Kaiba brothers for assistance. Mokuba had developed a grim acceptance of his brother's relationship with his favorite classmate, moping silently whenever Seto paid extra attention to her.

A melodious chime sounded from inside Serenity's pocket, and she set aside her textbook to dig for the culprit of the sound. She drew out her cell-phone and answered it without looking at the number. After all, only one person routinely called her. "Hi Joey! What's happening?"

A strange voice belonging to a girl slightly younger than herself replied, "Serenity! Thank goodness you're alive. I'm so sorry I didn't return your call sooner. It was on my to-do list, but I just didn't get around to it. When I saw the thing about Domino on the news, I was afraid that I was too late. Are you OK?"

"Slow down. Who is this?" Serenity asked.

"It's Rebecca Hawkins. Remember when you called me like, a couple of months ago?"

"Oh yeah! So Rebecca, what was that thing in Domino that you were mentioning?"

"The _big _thing… How can you not know?"

"You'll have to fill me in. I've been living on an island for the past week."

"There was an accidental discharge from one of our planetary defense satellites. Stellar Defense was running a simulation of some sort, but the satellite fired the wrong way. It was aiming at some asteroid out in deep space, but since the whole satellite was assembled backwards, it hit Domino High School three times instead."

Serenity's blood froze, and her voice came out barely louder than a whisper. "When did this happen?"

"It must have been just an hour or two ago. I saw it on the International Communications news channel. Hey, do you have a TV over there? They'll probably play it again. After all, there were at least a hundred people who died in that accident."

Serenity shuddered. Everything suddenly clicked into place. She knew why Seto had brought her and Mokuba to the island. "It wasn't an accident," she said in a whisper.

"Of course it was an accident. What could anyone gain by hurting a bunch of teenagers? It was just a test that went totally wrong."

"Rebecca, the test went exactly as planned. That's why I wasn't there when it happened. Seto knew it would happen, so he-"

"-Seto? As in Kaiba?"

"Yes! Listen to me, Rebecca. Something much bigger is about to happen. You've got to stay away from large crowds for a while."

"Why? Serenity, you're making absolutely no sense."

"Trust me, Rebecca. Seto has inside information."

"There you go again. What's with you and Kaiba? Why would he tell you all of all people?"

"I'm his… girlfriend."

Rebecca gasped. "What happened to Tristan?"

"He… He broke up with me when he found out he got into Dartmouth."

"Dartmouth? Tristan! No way! I didn't think he was smart enough for Dartmouth."

"Rebecca, could you do me a huge favor and call him for me? Just warn him to stay away from any mobs. I know it sounds crazy, but I just want him to be safe, and I can't call him myself because Joey erased his number from my phone. Joey was there when he broke up with me. It was awful. Joey was even more upset about it than I was. I just want him to be OK. Please, Rebecca?"

"Um… that's a really strange request, but I guess I could do it for you… just this once."

"Thank you so much, Rebecca!" Serenity cried.

"Um… should I tell Tristan about Kaiba, too?"

Serenity paused for a moment. Her thoughts oscillating between the advice that Mai and Tea had given her. Finally, she said, "You might as well tell him. I like Seto, and right now things are going well for us. I don't want Tristan to feel bad about breaking up with me."

Rebecca confirmed her willingness to carry out Serenity's request once more, and the two of them said their good-byes. When Serenity got off the phone, she found Mokuba gaping at her. His deep violet eyes stared at her in accusation.

"What is it?" she asked innocently.

"Serenity, you can't just go telling _everyone_ that my big brother is involved in some sort of conspiracy. Do you have any idea what kind of repercussions that might have?" Mokuba said, sounding upset.

"I never used the word _conspiracy_," Serenity replied as calmly as possible.

"You implied it."

"Well, isn't it true?"

"No. Seto has nothing to do with those creeps. In fact, he tried to stop them." Mokuba glared at Serenity with a fierce, almost inhuman expression that she had never seen on his face before. She withdrew from him as much as she could without leaving her chair, pressing the white cushions flat. However, she kept her own olivine eyes glued to him as if she was afraid that he would suddenly transform into a giant predatory animal.

After what felt like an eternity, Serenity heard a voice in the distance. She turned her head away from Mokuba to see Seto and Pete strolling up the walkway towards them. Seto had traded in his fine black leather boots for a more sturdy brown leather pair like the ones the geologist wore. However, he still sported a stunningly sleek blue trench coat. Serenity's heart skipped a beat when she saw him, and Seto's face lit up when her eyes met his.

"We have good news!" Seto called as he approached.

"What is it?" Serenity asked.

Mokuba drew away from Serenity quickly and sheepishly, but Seto did not seem to notice. Instead, he held out a hand to Serenity and assisted her as she got to her feet. Serenity leaned on him slightly, placing about half of her weight on her healing ankle as they made their way into the manor.

"There are ancient ruins on this island. Aquitard thinks that some of the carvings in the rocks look like duel monsters, and that they would help the students with their lessons," Seto replied.

"Really?" Serenity asked as Seto helped her into the dining room and set her down in one of the luxurious tiger maple chairs with red velvet cushions, "I thought you hated history."

"I do, but unfortunately the rest of the world seems to think that it is an important topic for teenagers to learn. With our new discovery right here on the island, the students won't be so bored with it." Seto gave Serenity's hand a little squeeze as he sat down beside her. He was in an unusually good mood.

Mokuba sat down across from them and cleared his throat. "Seto, what about more recent events in history like Japan's democratic revolution, the sixth world war, and Kouta Kuramitsu's election?"

Seto's face suddenly took on a grave appearance and his features darkened. His blue eyes blackened as the sky blackens after sunset. "We will wait until the textbooks are published before teaching anything about that," Seto declared.

"But Seto," Mokuba began.

"We will wait," Seto said firmly.

The dining room was awkwardly quiet for several minutes until the food arrived. Seto had a glass of wine with his meal, and after a few sips he eased back into the relaxed conversational mood that he had been in when he first got to the manor. He talked about the menu that Duel Academy would serve and how the quality would vary by dorm. The better quality food at the best dorm would give students an extra incentive to excel at their studies and get promoted to a better rank. Serenity and Mokuba gradually joined in the conversation and relaxed more as the evening drew to a close.

Mokuba excused himself from the table early, leaving Seto and Serenity to finish their dessert alone. As soon as Mokuba was gone, Seto placed a spoonful of his own ice cream into Serenity's mouth and kissed her softly, savoring the way the strawberry flavor complimented the texture of her smooth lips. Serenity hummed with happiness as she enjoyed every moment she spent with him. Even if the world came to an end, she still had Seto.

Meanwhile, Mokuba was in his room doing more homework and trying not to cry. He wanted to tell Serenity how he really felt about her, but every time he tried, it came out totally wrong. Then there was Seto. Did Seto actually care about Serenity, or was he just using her? None of this was clear to Mokuba, but either way he still loved Seto and felt that he had to put his brother first in everything. If Seto wanted Serenity for whatever reason, that was just the way it had to be. It was not so much the fact that Seto was calling Serenity his girlfriend, but the complications that troubled Mokuba.

**Closing Note:** Sometimes, especially in college, friends can go months or years without talking to each other and then suddenly get back in touch for whatever reason. I recently learned that one of my old high school friends and I have something in common that I cannot share with most of my other friends or I tried to share and they did not understand. So, Rebecca was not being mean by not returning Serenity's call all those months. She was just too busy.


	21. The University Where Nothing Happened

**Music Lover's Alert:** Several songs make good background music for this chapter. It is a long chapter, so you can listen to all of them if you wish. First, Buffalo Springfield's "For what it's worth" followed by "Santiago" by David Rovics, and then "The Village Where Nothing Happened," which is also by David Rovics. I just uploaded "The Village Where Nothing Happened" on YouTube so you can find it easily. "Santiago" was already on YouTube, so enjoy!

**Chapter 21 The University Where Nothing Happened**

Yugi Moto stood outside a lecture hall waiting for the class inside to get out so that he could enter and get a good seat for his class. While he waited, his deep purple eyes scanned a bulletin board full of exciting opportunities. There were social clubs, charity organizations, guest lecturers, study groups, internships, sports teams, and more. One flyer in particular caught his eye. Although it was typed on plain white paper in a simple font with no pictures, it called out to him more strongly than the neon orange and fluorescent green advertisements:

"Attention Junior Archaeologists of Egypt! Have you ever dreamed of hunting for artifacts of historical significance? You're in luck! Thanks to a new research grant from International Enterprises in cooperation with the government of Egypt, we are seeking students of all levels to assist seasoned archaeologists on their digs. Learn how to unearth valuable artifacts, how to catalog them, how to preserve them, and much more! For more information, please contact IIshtar ucairo . edu."

Yugi scribbled down the e-mail address in his notebook. Yugi remembered the name "Ishtar" from the last time he had visited Egypt, and it crossed his mind that he might run into Ishizu and Marik again someday. The thought of working with a member of the tomb keeping clan on an internship excited him, but class was about to start, so he decided to send the e-mail right after class. As soon as he finished writing down the address, he joined the flood of freshmen that were entering the lecture hall. The course was Ancient Egyptian Studies 001, and although Yugi already knew a lot about Ancient Egypt, there were still many things left for him to learn. Throughout the lecture, he sat up straight in his chair and took copious notes, filling page after page with names, dates, and stories of things that had happened after Atem and Seto's reign.

When class was over, the professor made an announcement about something to do with world peace. However, Yugi was too busy scribbling down the last of his lecture notes to listen. When the professor finished talking, Yugi gathered up his things and joined the throng of students leaving the lecture hall. Thoughts of what he had learned in class faded from his mind as he passed the white flyer on the bulletin board just outside the lecture hall. _IIshtar… could that possibly be Ishizu Ishtar?_ A regal tanned face with striking blue eyes flashed through Yugi's mind. Yugi smiled and wondered if she would be the one running the archaeology program. Filled with excitement, Yugi started walking faster towards his dorm room where he could write an e-mail to IIshtar and find out for himself.

To save time on his walk, Yugi decided to cut diagonally across the campus green. However, when he got there he found that it was packed with students sporting the yellow and blue colors of Cairo University. Many students held signs on wooden posts and several students held a large canvas banner with the university mascot on it. Yugi glanced at the mob of students briefly before deciding that it would be easier to go around them than it would be to go through them. A squad of cheerleaders stood before the group leading the crowd in a chant. It appeared to be some sort of pep rally like the ones he had attended in high school right before a really big sports game. Yugi was never very keen on sports, so he kept walking, lost in his own thoughts about Ancient Egypt. He did not read any of the signs that the students carried, nor did he look at their faces, which were full of anger and rage.

If he had been paying attention, Yugi might have seen that one of the cheerleaders was a familiar man with long blond hair and sharp violet eyes. Although he was not one of Cairo University's regular cheerleaders, his girlfriend's spare uniform fit easily over his skinny frame. The yellow-trimmed blue top ended mid-way down his back, exposing a tattoo composed of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The man shook a huge yellow pom-pom in the air and yelled in unison with the other cheerleaders, "Whose University?"

"Our University!" the crowd chanted in response.

"Whose University?" the cheerleaders asked.

"Our University!" the other students yelled.

The mob continued chanting and Yugi continued walking. By the time he reached his dormitory, their voices had faded and their words were no longer distinguishable. Yugi swiped his student ID card on the electronic lock on the door to his dormitory, and it opened with a click. The common room was completely empty, but the television set was on at full volume. Mindful of saving electricity, Yugi approached it with the intention of turning it off, but something made him pause.

A news reporter from International Communications was speaking. "Now, a word from Stellar Defense CEO Gilbert Jones." The screen split, and a brown-haired man in a well-tailored suit appeared on the right side of the screen. "Mr. Jones, the students of Cairo University are concerned about your recent deal with the government of Cairo. How would you like to respond to their concerns?"

The CEO spoke confidently, reading off a teleprompter that Bakura's staff had prepared for him. "First, I would like to assure the students of Cairo University that everyone who has already declared a major will indeed graduate with their intended degree. As the new owner of Egypt, I will defer to the expertise of the regents who have run Cairo University for decades in most matters. However, I _insist_ that the students cooperate with the new regime. I am giving the students two hours to comply before I am forced to take _corrective_ measures."

A chill ran down Yugi's spine as he switched the television off. Something strange was happening, and he did not understand it _at all_. He closed his eyes and shook his head of red and yellow tipped black hair, then went to the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor. Yugi's body felt numb as he rode the elevator up to his room. He had an eerie feeling that he was missing something, and that he would find out whatever was going on later. He got out of the elevator on the fourth floor, swiped his ID card to unlock his door and mechanically set down his backpack next to the desk inside, and then set his ID card on top of his desk beside his laptop. His roommate, who was usually studying at this time of day, was not present.

Yugi sat down at his desk and turned on his laptop. As soon as it completed its startup process, he opened his e-mail and started typing a letter to IIshtar ucairo . edu. As he did so, he felt oddly distracted. He could not put his finger on what was disturbing him, but it took more than an hour to write a simple two hundred fifty word e-mail. Yugi re-read his e-mail several times before hitting the "send" button and then stared out his window absentmindedly. Suddenly, a bright orange beam of light shot down from the sky, and a thousand screams followed it. Yugi could hear the anguish in their voices even through the walls of his dormitory. Another beam of orange light shot down from the sky followed by another intense scream that was slightly lower in volume. Yugi watched mesmerized as the beam after beam shot down from the sky followed by screams that diminished in the volume until they could no longer be heard. At last, the beams ceased to appear and Yugi stared out his window in wide-eyed horror wondering what had happened.

Yugi gazed at the grey smoke that rose from the location of Cairo's campus green for countless minutes until a two-toned chime alerted him to the presence of unread mail in his inbox. Yugi automatically turned to his computer screen and opened the first e-mail on his list.

Dear Yugi,

You have no idea how comforting it is for me to hear from an old friend in a time like this. I just found out that my brother perished in the movement to keep Cairo University a public institution. I do not know what the future will bring, but I would greatly appreciate your assistance in my archaeological expedition. Please meet me at 573 Archaeology Department Building as soon as possible. I am in my office from 6:00pm to 9:00pm Tuesdays through Fridays.

-Ishizu Ishtar

Yugi looked at the clock on his computer. It was only 7:57pm, plenty of time to walk to Ishizu's office. Yugi picked his ID card up off his desk, shoved it in the front pocket of his black leather pants, and scurried out of his dormitory. An eerie silence accompanied him throughout his whole walk, especially when he passed the dining hall where at least five hundred students should have been seated for dinner. Yugi could see about two hundred students through the glass windows of the facility, but none of them were speaking. He entered the Archaeology Department Building and headed straight for the staircase. He took the stairs two-at-a-time until he reached Ishizu's floor. When he got there, he slowed down, reading the numbers until he came to 573 and saw the letters "ISHTAR, ISHIZU" printed on a temporary plaque beside the door. He knocked softly on the door, and was promptly greeted by a tall woman in a long linen dress with a blue-patterned trim that hugged her shoulders.

"Yugi, please enter," the woman said as her long black hair swayed sadly.

Yugi nodded briefly and complied with Ishizu's request. He took a seat in a black plastic chair while Ishizu sat in a black rolling chair that accompanied her desk. Her desk was a small lacquered plywood surface, and two identical desks belonging to other graduate students who were not present were also crammed into the room. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say to each other. Tears welled up in Ishizu's luminous blue eyes.

"Um… should I come back another time?" Yugi asked.

Ishizu shook her head. She forced some words out of her mouth, choking on them as she spoke. "Yugi… As far as I know, you are my only living friend in Egypt. Everyone else… vaporized."

Ishizu's hands shook, and Yugi scooted his chair closer to hers so that he could grasp her hands in his own. "I'm sure they can't _all_ be gone," he said awkwardly.

Ishizu took a few slow, ragged breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "I'm sure you're right. Only about twenty percent of Cairo University students were on the green when Stellar Defense blasted it. It's just that Marik…" Ishizu broke down into uncontrollable sobs once more.

Yugi released Ishizu's hands and pulled her close to him, embracing her trembling body. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Yugi had only been at Cairo University for a few months, but he had already made several good friends and he knew in his heart that some of them were gone. He also recognized that Ishizu's pain was much greater than his own. As a PhD candidate who had spent all her college years at Cairo University, Ishizu must have lost so much more than just her brother.

Slowly, Ishizu started talking about some of the students she knew who had decided to participate in the protest. The protest itself was a spontaneous, loosely organized event. When a few students heard on the news that Egypt had fallen under the control of a CEO who specialized in selling arms, they immediately made the connection that their university, a public institution, would also fall under the control of Gilbert Jones. Filled with concern over the fate of their school, the students called their friends via cell-phone to organize a demonstration. Some students, like Yugi, had been blissfully unaware of the problem. Others, like Ishizu, had a gut sense that they should stay inside rather than join the mob. Although the millennium necklace still lay buried under several tons of rock and stone, Ishizu maintained a slightly better than average sense of intuition.

Her brother, on the other hand, had not believed her when she warned him over the phone not to join the protest. Marik liked to live on the edge, and he resented it when his sister tried to stop him from doing bold and daring things. It had all started when Marik brought home his new girlfriend Malia. Her sultry grey eyes and her tight-fitting garments disturbed Ishizu, and she made no secret of her dislike for the girl. "Marik, she's dangerous. She'll get you into trouble. Please distance yourself from her," Ishizu had said.

"Why?" Marik had asked with his violet eyes glowing hotly.

"I do not know why. I just have a bad feeling about her," Ishizu had replied.

Marik had ignored his sister's warning, and had spent many happy weeks with Malia. However, Ishizu's fears had not been entirely unjustified. It was Malia who had called Marik to invite him to the protest, and now both of them had been vaporized by blasts from Stellar Defense satellites.

Ishizu clutched her Freshman visitor tightly. "Yugi, I need to know."

"Know what?" Yugi asked.

"Everything. I need to dig up the millennium necklace. I can't go on like this anymore. It's just too hard. I've resisted the urge to dig it up for three years, but I can't take it any longer. Yugi, I need to know what lies ahead."

Yugi could tell from the grave tone of her voice that there was no point in arguing with her. Even though they had agreed to leave the millennium items buried for good after Atem returned to the spirit world, circumstances made Yugi second-guess the wisdom of this decision.

**Closing Note:** I did a bit of research in an attempt to find out what colors Cairo University cheerleaders wore, but I could not find anything. I'm guessing that Cairo University doesn't have cheerleaders in the real world due to the influence of Islam. However, since I am writing in an alternate universe, Cairo University has cheerleaders, and their colors are yellow/gold and blue. The colors were an arbitrary decision on my part. If anyone knows better, please let me know!

More Seto/Serenity stuff is coming later! Chapter 24, I think. In the meantime, they're safe on Duel Academy Island.


	22. Nothing Happened Here, Either

**Author's Note:** Thanks biskittins! I'm glad I did a good job with the university atmosphere. Now I'm going for the high school atmosphere. I hope I remember this well enough. It has been a while. This is another OC chapter, but I put Duke in it.

**Music Lover's Alert:** "This is What Democracy Looks Like" by um… everyone. There are a bunch of other classics you can listen to, and the best way to listen to them is live. If you are reading this on a portable device and you are anywhere near a major protest, you might want to go listen to that instead of a YouTube recording. If you are not able to listen to it live, there are several satisfactory YouTube recordings of "This is What Democracy Looks Like" online.

**Chapter 22 Nothing Happened Here, Either**

Back at Kobe High School, Joan and her friends were sitting in class when the principal made a special announcement over the intercom: "Attention students and teachers! Twenty minutes ago, Prime Minister Kouta Kuramitsu signed a treaty that officially ended all wars around the planet. I now invite you to turn on your TVs to International Communications Channel Four for the full story."

A deafening cheer erupted as some of them yelled, "My brother is coming home!" while others simply took the opportunity to make as much noise as possible. Crumpled up papers and other objects flew into the air as they all expressed great jubilation. Katie and Jessica grabbed each other, kissing in full view of their classmates while their teacher walked over to the television set and turned it on. However, instead of tuning it to the prescribed International Communications channel, he left it on the local Kobe news channel.

A young man with jet black hair that fell in spikes around his face and haunting green eyes stood beside a neatly dressed reporter. A pair of dice dangled from his left ear, and a long black tattoo extended down from his left eye. He held a cardboard sign that said, "Keep Japan Free."

Behind him, a thousand other people were chanting, "The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!"

A young, beautiful yet inexperienced reporter spoke into her microphone. "I'm speaking to you now from Kobe's City Hall with Duke Devlin, former CEO. Mr. Devlin, why are so many people out here today?"

A painful expression crossed Duke's face as the reporter held the microphone out to him. "When Prime Minister Kouta Kuramitsu signed the treaty, he also signed away everything that Japanese people have worked so hard to attain over the past five decades. We refuse to let Pegasus run our county. It's our country, not his!"

A fresh burst of chanting rose from the crowd. "Duke, Duke! He's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"

Duke lifted the microphone to his lips again. "Did you hear that, Pegasus? The people don't want you telling them what to do! If you really want to rule Japan, you'll have to go through all of us first! You took my company down, but you won't take Japan down!"

Joan, Tam, Katie, and Jessica exchanged glances as the camera cut to the other protesters with their makeshift signs and angry faces. "We need to get out there and join them!" Joan exclaimed.

The four girls set down their pencils and got up to leave with Tam at the front of the group. They were almost to the door when their teacher called, "Rakitan, where are you and your friends going?"

The natural blonde opened her mouth to respond, but Katie beat her to the punch. "We're not going to sit around idly and watch our country fall apart. We have a window of opportunity to fix things right now, and we're not going to miss it. You are more than welcome to come with us." The bottle blonde paused by the doorway and scanned the room with a challenge in her hazel eyes.

Most of the students looked away, but Adam stood up and joined the girls. With one last glance back at the classroom, they left. Their teacher stared after them with an exasperated expression on his face while the rest of the students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Although the students who had just left the room were not among the most popular kids in the school, they were definitely the brightest. Everyone knew that Joan, Jessica and Adam were bound for Tokyo University, and seeing them walk out of class to join a protest was quite unnerving to those who considered them teacher's pets.

The teacher himself did not seem to know what to make of their insubordination, either. He shook his head and switched the television set to the International Communications channel where Ryo Bakura, Maximillion Pegasus, Gilbert Jones, Kouta Kuramitsu, and Cheryl Gardner were seated around a table with champagne glasses toasting to the new peace that had been achieved. They chatted comfortably and easily with their reporter in the safety of a large skyscraper.

Joan and her entourage walked through the deserted hallways of their high school and out into the street where traffic was being blocked by a slowly moving procession of about two hundred people on their way to join the main group of protesters in the heart of the city. The students fell into step beside them and tried to talk to each other, but the sound of noisy car horns behind them prevented them from having any real communication with each other. They finally gave up trying to talk and settled for chanting, "Tell me what democracy looks like!"

Their companions responded by yelling, "This is what democracy looks like!" at the top of their lungs.

They continued repeating the chant as they walked, and some of the people who had been honking at them parked their cars and got out to march with them. After about twenty minutes, the procession emerged onto the front lawn of Kobe City Hall where at least ten thousand people were already gathered. Suddenly, a broad beam of orange light shot down from the sky into the center of the crowd. Joan and the other people on the fringes of the mob felt a wave of heat wash over them and heard panicked screams emanating from the middle of City Hall's lawn. Within seconds, another beam of light shot down from the sky a little closer to the teenagers. Another wave of heat blasted them along with the smell of seared flesh and the sound of fresh screams.

"Quick! Run!" Jessica yelled, grabbing Katie's hand and pulling her away from the carnage. The other students followed the couple while Tam dashed down the sidewalk ahead of them, seeking a good place to take shelter. Behind them, orange beams continued to vaporize the protesters.

Tam came to the door of an air-conditioned shopping mall and held it open while her classmates slipped inside. At this point, the heat had become almost unbearable. Adam lagged behind a little, his short legs causing him to be short of breath. As soon as the other girls were inside, Tam ran back and picked up Adam. She bounced the round little boy like a basketball into the open door of the mall and then dove in after him.

Tam closed the door behind her and her classmates right before one of the fatal beams crashed into the middle of the street outside, vaporizing some of the less able-bodied people that Joan and her friends had been marching beside only moments ago.

The students leaned against the inside of the door for support and breathed heavily as their hearts pounded. Some of the shoppers gazed curiously at them and out the window as smoke rose from the scorched street. However, none of them were brave enough to approach the youths and ask them what had happened. Almost all of Kobe's brave souls had been lost to a weapon that was originally built to protect them.

**Closing Note: **I have been reading Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein lately. It is one of my boyfriend's favorite books, and now it is one of my favorite books, too. It is the sequel to Methuselah's Children, so read that one first if you are at all inclined to read science fiction novels. Anyway, I came across a quotation I thought I would throw at you: "Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny."

If you're a Duke Devlin fan, I'm sorry. He's gone, too. He was at the center of the demonstration, so he didn't even see it coming if that's any consolation.


	23. Digging Up The Future

**Music Lover's Alert:** This is going to be a long chapter, so if you want some music to last a while, go for the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album "Déjà vu." I consider it a really good road trip album, especially "Woodstock." For the end of the chapter, switch to "The war is over" by David Rovics.

**Author's Note: **I updated this chapter to better portray that Ishizu and Yugi drove a really, really long way. They wound up in present-day Morocco and took the ferry to some nameless island that appeared in the series. I did a Google map search to find out that it should have taken approximately two days and eleven hours of constant driving to get there from Cairo. That route also goes along the Mediterranean Sea instead of through the desert. Since Ishizu is taking a shortcut through the desert, it might be a little shorter, but at least it is in the ballpark. I owe a big thanks to Rocket6923 for pointing out to me that my geography was totally off the first time I posted this chapter! I think I understand Miss Teen USA 2007 South Carolina better now.

**Chapter 23 Digging Up The Future**

Early the next morning, Ishizu's desert rover rumbled over the barren Egyptian sands. Yugi, his spiky multicolored hair flapping in the breeze, sat beside her in the passenger seat. Ishizu's long black hair was covered with a linen cloth to keep her head cool. As she drove, her royal blue eyes stared straight ahead with determination. It had been a long time since she had visited the resting place of the millennium items, but she knew the way by heart. As her desert rover gobbled up liter after liter of gasoline, she listened to some of her brother's old American CDs and contemplated the deep feeling of loss within her soul.

After several long hours of driving west, Ishizu stopped and refueled the vehicle in a small village situated beside an oasis. It was a tiny community, but they kept enough fuel in large above-ground tanks so that travelers like herself would not become stranded. It was expensive and depleted the stock of internationally accepted gold coins that Ishizu carried with her, but to her it was worth every ounce. Crossing international borders on official roads was a nuisance, and going through the desert was not only shorter in terms of distance, but less hassle in terms of explaining why she wanted to travel all the way across Northern Africa to border guards.

Ishizu then handed the keys to Yugi. "You drive for a while. I'm going to take a nap," she said.

"Wait, what if I get lost?" Yugi protested.

Ishizu pulled dug around in the back of the desert rover for a sleeping bag while she answered, "Just drive into the setting sun and you'll be fine. When the sun sets, wake me and I'll take us to another place where we can get more fuel." She then hopped back in the car and curled up in a ball on the passenger seat using a corner of her sleeping bag to cover her eyes and the rest of it as a pillow.

When night came, Yugi woke her and took his turn sleeping. They switched back and forth like this several times as the sun rose, set, and rose again. Ishizu took the stretches of desert that required more alert navigation and spotted signs of civilization so that they could refuel. They munched on dried meats, olives, and other relatively nonperishable high calorie foods until they were aching for a hot meal.

Finally, the desert gave way to a spectacular mountain range known as the Atlas Mountains. At the base of the mountain range, Ishizu found a narrow, but well-maintained road that granted easy access to the other side. Ishizu continued to drive into the setting sun, and by nightfall she and her undergraduate assistant were staring at a waxing crescent moon sitting in a starry sky above the Atlantic Ocean.

Ishizu parked the desert rover on a sandy beach and shut down the engine. "We'll stop here for the night and find a boat in the morning," she said.

"Here!" Yugi asked, looking around the beach.

"Sorry. I forgot that you are a city boy. Would you like to pay for the hotel?" she said coolly.

Yugi shook his head and Ishizu hopped out of the desert rover. She pulled a canvas tarp out of the vehicle and laid it on the sand. Yugi got out of the vehicle and watched helplessly for a moment while she worked. "Um… What can I do?" he finally asked.

"Find four big rocks to hold down the edges of this tarp," Ishizu replied.

"I can't see anything," Yugi protested. The moon provided enough light for Ishizu to work, but his eyes were unaccustomed to nighttime situations.

Ishizu sighed and went back to the rover. After fumbling for a few seconds, she pulled out a flashlight and tossed it to Yugi. He saw the dark object sailing toward him and flinched away from it. Thankfully, it landed in the sand by his feet without any damage. Yugi picked it up, turned in on, and went searching for the rocks while Ishizu took out a canvas tent and made all the preparations she could without Yugi's help. When Yugi got back, she directed him so that he could help her erect the tent. The process was much more difficult than Yugi expected it to be. By the time they were done, his petite body ached from exertion.

"It was… so much easier… last time we did this," Yugi panted.

"Last time, your friend Seto Kaiba chipped in for the cruise ship along with your other friends, and none of you were worried about paying your college tuition at the time," Ishizu reminded him as she took out a single burner camp stove and lit it.

Yugi collapsed on the tarp and looked up at her stately face in the dim light. She had always been the strongest woman he ever knew. Even while mourning the loss of her brother, something at the center of her soul remained firm. "Ishizu, why did you choose to bring me on this trip? After all, there are so many other students you could have chosen."

Ishizu opened a can of soup and set it cooking in a little tin pot on the stove. "Yugi, I don't even know most of the undergraduates who walk into my office every day. Plus, you already know exactly what we are trying to find."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to dig that deep, and wouldn't it be better for you to have more people working on it?"

"Logically, you're right. However, something tells me that we don't want to get too many people involved in this. I'll know more when I find the millennium necklace." Ishizu stirred the soup thoughtfully for a few minutes, and then poured it into two stainless steel bowls. "Eat and rest. Tomorrow will be another long day."

Yugi took the bowl and ate in silence beneath the starry sky, trying to think of what to say next. He gave up at last and let his mind wander to his friends in Japan. Tea and Joey constantly sent him e-mails, so he had a pretty good idea about what was happening back in Japan. At least, he thought he knew. A new prime minister who promised peace had been elected, Joey had a steady job working as a mechanic, and Tea got a good role in the prestigious Tokyo University Ballet. What he did not know was that all around the world, thousands of other universities and communities were going through almost exactly the same thing that Cairo University experienced.

Yugi finished his soup, and Ishizu showed him how to clean the dishes with their limited camping supplies. After the dishes were clean, Yugi curled up inside a sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep.

…..

Yugi woke to find a mass of silky black hair nestled below his chin. He pulled away from it quickly, and then realized how cold it was in the oceanside tent. Ishizu yawned and stretched slowly. Her eyes fluttered open to reveal a pair of luminous blue orbs. "What time is it?" she asked.

Judging from the amount of light filtering through the canvas, Yugi and Ishizu had not slept in very long. Yugi picked his cell-phone out of his pants which he had not bothered to remove before falling asleep. The tight leather clung to his legs, making them feel stiff. Yugi doubted if he would be able to stand. Looking at his cell-phone, he said, "7:34."

Ishizu's head shot straight up, and within an instant she was on her feet. The hem of her crinkled linen dress hung just below her knees rather than to her ankles like it had the day before. "Yugi! We must make haste if we are to find a boat today."

Yugi pulled himself to his feet. His legs screamed in pain from a combination of cold, lack of blood flow due to his tight leather pants, and last night's exertion. Thankfully, the pain slowly dissipated as he moved. Yugi helped Ishizu put away the tent and load everything back into the desert rover. Then, Ishizu started the engine and drove along the coast until they came to a set of docks. Ishizu then found a ferry and bought a ticket for it. Unlike the luxury cruise ship that they had taken two years ago with the Kaiba brothers and the rest of their friends, the ferry offered no amenities other than a simple parking spot. Ishizu drove the desert rover onto the ferry and shut the engine off. Then, she pulled out a stack of papers and a red pen.

"Are those student papers?" Yugi asked curiously.

"Yes. Just because I feel that this trip is urgent does not mean that I can neglect my duties," Ishizu answered.

Yugi stared at her for a few minutes as she started to read and grade the papers.

"Ishizu, what if…" Yugi began hesitantly.

"Don't you have something to do?" Ishizu snapped. Her graceful, tanned hand trembled over the paper she was grading. She knew full well that many of the papers she held would never return to the students who had written them. However, keeping herself busy was the only way she knew how to keep her mind off Marik, who would never know what grade he received on his most recent calculus mid-term.

Yugi looked away from Ishizu and pulled a textbook out of his backpack. He opened it to a place about two thirds of the way through where his bookmark lay and began reading in silence.

Several hours and several unhealthy snacks later, the ferry docked on the island where Yugi had said good-bye to Atem. Ishizu put away the papers that she was grading, started up the engine of the desert rover, and drove it off the road onto an unpaved pathway that wound between two enormous ridges of brown rock. The path came to a dead end where a gigantic mound of crumbled stone filled the gorge.

Ishizu stopped the vehicle and got out to examine the damage. "This is worse than I remember. It could take months to find the millennium items in this mess."

Yugi walked up to a large brown rock that was about the size of a coffee table and sat down on it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. At one time, he had such a powerful connection with the millennium puzzle that he could almost sense its position when he was not wearing it. However, those days were long gone. Yugi opened his eyes to see Ishizu pulling a meter-long pole with a ring the width of her hand at one end and a small liquid crystal display at the other end out of the desert rover. "What's that?" Yugi asked.

"Metal detector," Ishizu responded. She climbed up onto a pile of rocks and waved the loop over the space in front of her. "Set up camp. This could take some time."

"OK." Yugi went back to the desert rover and started pulling out equipment as he had seen Ishizu do on the previous evening. There was still a little light in the sky, and Yugi set up as much as he could without Ishizu's help.

When the sun was almost set, Ishizu stopped her searching and came to help Yugi set up the tent. When the tent was fully erected, Yugi cooked dinner while Ishizu went back to searching with her metal detector.

Just before dinner was ready, a soft beeping sound issued from Ishizu's metal detector. It grew louder as Ishizu moved it closer to the hidden objects. "Yugi! Come quickly! The millennium items are here!"

Yugi turned off the camp stove and climbed over several meters of rock to reach her. The light emanating from the computer screen on her metal detector beaconed him as he drew closer to her. At last, Yugi stood by Ishizu's side staring down at a small oblong object shaped like an eye on the computer screen: The millennium necklace. Its golden chain was curved slightly downward, and right below it sat a spherical object. The details were not very clear on the screen, but Yugi knew that it had to be the millennium eye. Ishizu moved the metal detector down slightly, and a triangular object with a loop on the top appeared on her screen. Yugi hollered with delight when he saw his old puzzle, and threw his arms around Ishizu.

Ishizu let him hug her for a few moments and then said. "Come. Tomorrow we will dig for them. Tonight we must rest and save our strength." Ishizu quickly waved the metal detector around some more to ensure that the other four items were present, and then planted a red flag over the place where she had first located the millennium necklace. Then, she headed back to the tent with Yugi.

While they ate, Ishizu explained to Yugi how they would dig up the millennium items. Since they were not seeking delicate biological artifacts and the metal detector told them how deep the objects were buried, they would dig through the first few meters of rock quickly using brute force to break the rocks into more manageable pieces and pull them out of the way. Yugi nodded as he listened, and eventually nodded off to sleep as Ishizu spoke. Ishizu tucked a sleeping bag around Yugi, cleaned the dishes, and drifted off to sleep with him.

…

In the morning, Yugi woke to find Ishizu already awake and working. She had secured a steel cable around a huge rock the size of a donkey and was pulling it out of a shallow hole with her desert rover. The steel cable pulled taut as Ishizu drove away from the main pile of rocks. The rocks beneath the one she was pulling groaned and creaked until it overcame the static coefficient of friction that was holding it in place. The rock bounded forward, and Ishizu dragged it about fifty meters away from the hole where it landed in a pile of rocks that she had already removed.

Ishizu then got out of her desert rover, unhooked the cable from the massive rock, and got back in the vehicle to drive it back to its original place in front of the hole. She then shut off the engine and called out, "Yugi! Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No!" Yugi called to her as she climbed over the giant brown rocks, "What about you?"

"No! I've been up since sunrise, and I was not hungry until now." Ishizu reached Yugi's location and started digging through the camping supplies. She pulled out a canister of oatmeal and tossed it to Yugi. "Here. Make enough for both of us."

Yugi caught the oatmeal and nodded, then set some water to boil on the camp stove. Their camping supplies included a thirty-five liter tank of water, which could last them at least a week if they conserved it. However, Ishizu was not planning to stay that long. She had told her professor that she needed some time to sort through some "family issues," which was partially true given the fact that her brother had recently been vaporized. However, with no body and none of his closest friends alive, a memorial service would be impractical. Thus, Ishizu used the extra time to dig up the millennium items under the radar.

Ishizu graded more papers while Yugi prepared their morning meal. Yugi set a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of Ishizu. She looked up at him briefly and thanked him, then went back to grading papers. Part of the deal that she had made with her professor was that she would grade extra papers while another graduate student took on her classroom discussion responsibilities.

As soon as Ishizu finished her oatmeal, she went back outside to do more work on the hole while Yugi cleaned the dishes. When he was finished, Yugi went outside to help Ishizu. Together, they pulled rock after rock out of the pit until they spotted the edge of the Millennium Stone. With one last haul, they pulled the cover off of it, revealing seven golden objects glistening in the fading sunlight.

Ishizu and Yugi peered down into the fifteen-meter deep hole at the gold artifacts. Yugi laughed nervously. "So… we found them. Now what?"

Ishizu jumped down into the hole and reached out a hand to touch the millennium necklace. As soon as her fingers made contact with it, a thousand visions flooded her mind. She saw Gilbert Jones shaking hands with Bakura amidst a crowd of CEOs. She saw more orange beams descend from the sky, obliterating hundreds of innocent people with each blast. She saw countless families breathe a sigh of relief when Bakura declared on live television all over the world, "The wars are over!" However, there were still those who remained skeptical.

People around the world continued to protest, and continued to be blasted from existence all over the globe until they finally gave up trying. Then, there were a few years of silence. In countless places all over the world, poor people toiled fruitlessly, providing fashionable clothing and high-tech devices for the lucky few who could afford them. In Tokyo, Domino, London, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Tel Aviv, and other major cities, people thrived in the lap of luxury while everyone else around the world languished in squalor.

Then, Ishizu saw a bright light. "Ishizu! Ishizu, snap out of it!" Yugi said as he shined a flashlight down on her face.

"How long was I gone?" Ishizu asked. She tried to sit up, but found that moving aggravated her already splitting headache.

"You were in some sort of trance for several minutes, and you were humming some Christmas music or something. It was really creepy. What did you see?"

Ishizu did not know where to begin. She had seen so many terrible things that she doubted she could explain it all even if she talked for the rest of her life. Instead of describing what she saw, she said. "We can't let the government get their hands on these items. We must hide them and guard them with our lives."

"With our _lives_?" Yugi asked in wide-eyed horror, "Why is it so important?"

"It's Bakura. The evil spirit of the millennium ring is back. He hid a piece of his soul inside another object, and now he is controlling Bakura again. Right now he does not have any shadow powers, but if he gets his hands on even _one_ of these items… It's a risk we can't take!"

Yugi stared at the Egyptian woman silently for a few moments. She certainly did have a flair for drama behind her usually placid face. "So, we just keep the items close to us and don't let anyone know we have them, right?"

Ishizu nodded. "By using the millennium necklace, I can ensure that nobody ever looks where they are hidden." She reached out her hand once more to touch the golden object. This time, the visions came to her at a much more manageable rate. She saw Yugi's new roommate digging through a closet looking for cleaning supplies and instead finding a stash of glittering gold artifacts. She saw Bakura on the news asking for all citizens to keep an eye out for certain "stolen historical treasures" and offering a handsome reward to anyone who returned them to the government. She saw Yugi's roommate claiming the reward and shaking hands with Bakura. Then, everything went black and Ishizu snapped back to the present.

Yugi looked down at Ishizu with concern. "So, can we keep the millennium items safe?"

"That depends," Ishizu answered cryptically.

"Depends on _what_?" Yugi asked impatiently.

"Yugi Moto, will you marry me?"

This time, it was Yugi's turn to pass out.

….

When Yugi woke, Ishizu was peering down at him. She had managed to carry him inside the canvas tent, and had laid him on a pile of pillows. "Ishizu, what happened?" Yugi asked.

"I asked you to marry me," Ishizu said smoothly as if it was no big deal.

Yugi gazed up at the strong yet feminine lines of her mature face. Her exotically tanned skin appealed to him, but there were still too many things wrong with her proposal. Besides the fact that she worked as a TA for some of the classes Yugi planned to take, Yugi suddenly felt that he did not know her half as well as he thought her knew her when he saw her flyer on the wall. The only thing that Yugi could utter was, "why?"

Cairo University policy forbids students of opposite sexes to live with each other unless they are related by blood or married. This local custom will continue to be enforced even with the new government. The only way we can insure the safety of the millennium items is to live together. I have seen it all, Yugi. No matter how well you hide the millennium items, your roommate will eventually find them."

"What if I don't have a roommate anymore?" he asked weakly.

"Actually, you're right. You don't have a roommate right now, but the university will assign you a new one as soon as you get back unless you marry me."

Yugi's short life flashed before his eyes. He saw images of Tea wearing a sexy azure prom dress that matched her eyes. He saw Rebecca Hawkins, Vivian Wong, and countless other lovely ladies who had tried to win his heart fade into the distance. "There's really no other way?"

Ishizu shook her head.

"OK," Yugi agreed at last, "I'll do it to protect the world."

"Good," Ishizu said as she extended a hand to help Yugi to his feet, "If we hurry, we can get our papers today. The university will be re-assigning dorm rooms soon due to the sudden decrease in the student population, so we need to put in our request for the married student housing ASAP."

Yugi shook the last thought of his disappearing freedom from his mind and stood up to help her pack up the camp. She had already packed up all of the millennium items except her necklace and placed them in the bottom of the desert rover so that they would not be found by lazy inspectors in case they ran into any border guards on their way back to Egypt. The necklace itself she wore, covered by a linen scarf that she wrapped around her neck and over her hair.

Once fully packed, they did not waste any time. Ishizu graded more papers on the ferry ride off the island, but this time she could see which papers would return to the students who wrote them and which ones would not. For the papers that would never return to their authors, she quickly marked "B+" on the top to satisfy the students' families without altering the curve. For the students who still lived, she graded their papers as fairly and accurately as she could. The millennium necklace heightened her awareness, and by the time the ferry docked on the mainland, she had finished all her work. Her professor would never suspect that she had gone all the way to retrieve the millennium items during her leave, especially when she returned with a new husband.

As they drove, Yugi's mind raced with questions, and he could not help but voice them out loud. "Ishizu, are we going to sleep together?"

"Yes, Yugi. The married student dorms are furnished with a double bed rather than two single beds."

"Um… what about sex?"

"You don't have to have sex with me if you do not desire it."

Yugi blushed to the color of a tomato. "No! I mean yes! I mean… I think you're really hot, but what if I'm terrible in bed."

Ishizu shrugged. "You'll get better."

"So I _do_ suck at first?" he said in a worried tone.

"Yugi, stop it! I can't concentrate on the future and drive at the same time. Besides, events having to do with myself have always been less clear than those which the millennium necklace chooses to show me. We might decide to get divorced after we graduate for all I know!"

Yugi shut his mouth and stared at the vast expanses of desert that they crossed. He wished that the millennium puzzle would show _him_ the future, but sadly it had never done anything except grant him one wish, and all the shadow powers he had used belonged to Atem, not the puzzle itself. Now, it seemed that even his wish, his friends, had slipped away from him. Yugi sighed and thought about Tea, Joey, and Tristan. What would they say when he told them that he got married? Perhaps it would be best not to tell them at all. At least, not for a while.

**Closing Note: **Don't forget to review and share if you are so inclined.


	24. The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

**Music Lover's Alert:** "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" by David Rovics, of course!

**Chapter 24 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy**

When Serenity got back to Domino, everything was still and quiet… too quiet. Seto dropped her off at home and gave her a slow, almost apologetic kiss before she exited the vehicle. Serenity made her way up to the front porch at half her normal speed, dragging her feet on the pavement as she walked. She drew her key out of her pocket and inserted it into the lock. It took her five full seconds to turn the doorknob. She glanced back at the electric limo that sat silently in front of her house, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

Inside, she found Joey and Mai staring at a black television screen. She did not know what she expected to see, but something about the way they held their bodies told her that hope had disappeared. "Why isn't the TV on?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Joey did not look at her. He did not even flinch when she spoke. "Can't stand the news," he said in a monotone.

"It's always the same," Mai added.

Serenity dropped to her knees and buried her face in the grey carpet, then sobbed quietly. Joey turned to look at his sister and rose to his feet. One step at a time, he walked over to her and fell to his knees in front of her. He took her shoulders in his hands and lifter her up until she was at eye level with him. Serenity made one attempt to look him in the eye, but failed. Her head came crashing back down, landing on his shoulder.

Joey spoke into her ear, his voice deathly hollow as if he was saying something that he would only say on his deathbed. "Kaiba was right. He saved your life. Serenity, we… owe him."

Serenity took a deep breath and lifted her chin up to her brother's shoulder so that she could speak into his ear. Now was as good a time as any to tell him. "Joey, Seto loves me. We're going steady now."

Joey's brown eyes widened, and then he fell backwards, fainting on the carpet. Mai rose and came to his side. She sat down and took Joey's head in her lap, stroking his blond hair. "I kept telling him that you and Kaiba had something going on, but he didn't believe me. He said that it was more likely something between you and Mokuba because Kaiba was too old for you. I pointed out that I dated a forty year-old actor when I was your age, but he just laughed and said that you were different; more innocent. Serenity, innocence is over-rated. If you don't take chances, you'll never know. Not for sure, anyway. Joey doesn't seem to understand that. It's a good thing in some ways, though. If Joey was a real risk-taker, he might be in the same place as Devlin right now."

"What happened to Duke?" Serenity asked with a tinge of horror in her voice. She felt herself growing numb to all the bad news she had been hearing lately, but it still bothered her.

"The same thing that happened to all those other kids. He probably didn't even see it coming," Mai replied somberly.

The two young women sat in silence for a while, staring down at Joey until he regained awareness. Joey blinked up at his sister. "So, I guess I'll be wearing that dog suit, huh?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Serenity said with a soft smile, "I think that you two should forget about that silly bet and just get along. We can't afford to have petty rivalries anymore, not with the way the world is right now."

Joey looked up at his sister with dimming brown eyes. It was as if a piece of him had just died. "You're right, Serenity. Despite all of our differences in the past, I know now that Kaiba is a good man. If you want to be with him, I won't stand in your way."

Serenity's eyes welled up with tears of joy, and she threw her arms around Joey in a big hug.

…...Meanwhile in America…..….

Tristan strolled past the blackened quadrangle of Dartmouth University. As he traversed the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from it, he kept his eyes glued to it. His hands were stuffed deep inside his tan-colored jacket, yet his posture was stiff and rigid. He could not help but wonder if he would have joined the demonstration on that fateful day when the green grass had been charred to a crisp if Rebecca had not warned him to stay home. The students who had chosen not to join the demonstration without any warnings never spoke of it. They simply continued going about their daily business as if nothing had happened and avoided the former campus green as if it was simply a fenced-off construction site. They just sat in cafes drinking lattes and talking about their new haircuts.

Tristan suddenly felt a soft object blocking his path. He had been walking so slowly that he did not expect anyone to bump into him, but when he looked down he saw a mass of smooth white hair nestled below his chin. He stepped back in shock, an automatic "sorry" issued forth from his mouth and the mouth of the person in front of him simultaneously.

The two college students blinked at each other. "Hey, I've seen you before. You're in my economics class," the girl said. Despite her white hair, she was definitely younger than 20. Her blue eyes glowed with the curiosity of a girl who was searching for something and expected to be pleasantly surprised by it one day.

"Yeah, I've seen you, too. You're kinda hard to miss, especially now that there are fewer people in our class," Tristan said bashfully.

"You were looking at it, weren't you?" the girl said, jerking her head slightly in the direction of the blackened earth.

"Yes—I mean no—Um… wait… you were looking at it, too?"

The girl nodded. "You're the only other person I have ever caught looking. Come, walk with me. Where were you going?"

"I was going to get some lunch, then head to a computer lab. What about you?"

"It's not important. I'm here on a legacy grant, so I can miss as many classes as I want." Even though she had been originally walking in the other direction, she twirled around to walk beside him.

The girl's actions sent chills down his spine, and something deep inside him told him to run, but he was too intrigued by her to walk away without at least asking her a few more questions. He began strolling slowly, and she matched his pace. "Legacy grant, huh? Me, too. I thought that meant you had to work harder to make sure that the next generation gets it, too. Why skip class?"

The girl laughed lightly. "Maybe in your family, but not mine. I'm a Bakura, so I'll get an A just for having one small conversation with the professor. It's a pretty sweet deal, so I might as well take advantage of it. So, what about your family?"

"I'm a Taylor," Tristan said.

The girl thought for a moment. "That sounds vaguely familiar. Don't tell me… your family runs the insurance division for Global Enterprises, don't they?"

"_Global_ Enterprises?" Tristan asked, "Last time I checked, it was _International_ Enterprises."

The girl blushed slightly. "Sorry. I'm just trying to get used to the name change before it happens."

"Why are you changing the name? Don't they mean the same thing?"

The two of them walked up the steps of Dartmouth's dining halls and Tristan opened the door for the white-haired girl. As they decided on what to eat, the girl said, "Inter_national_ would imply that Bakura does business in multiple nations. Pretty soon, we won't have separate nation states anymore."

"You mean, no countries!" Tristan asked, both bewildered and impressed.

The girl picked out a sandwich, and Tristan did the same. He was too baffled by her words to think, so he just chose the same food that she did. However, she spoke to Tristan easily as if she was a professor tutoring him during office hours. "That's right, no countries. Right now, we are still in a transition period where we are negotiating with local political leaders who want special treatment for whatever reason, but in the end Bakura and all the other CEOs are going to combine their territories. They think that they can maintain the peace better that way. It will be better for business, too."

Tristan and the girl sat down at a table together and started to eat. "That's good, I guess. I mean, it would be awful if we just lost all those students for no reason."

"You were warned, too," The girl stated matter-of-factly as she sorted through the contents of her sandwich to remove a few offensive items, "Your family must be one of our favorites."

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck. Technically, he had been warned by a friend of his ex-girlfriend who had obviously moved on because she had been warned by one of the richest, most desirable men in the world. Somehow, he did not think it would be a good idea to divulge that tidbit of information to the pretty girl in front of him. "I guess so. Um… if you don't mind my asking, how are you related to the Bakuras?"

"Ryo Bakura is my second cousin. I never get to talk to him, though. He's always so busy. Ever since he took over Global Enterprises, it's like he's become a completely different person. It's like I just don't know him anymore." The girl sighed and shivered a little.

"Well, I guess he's just under a lot of stress. He's made some tough decisions, but he instantly ended the wars. It's probably all for the best," Tristan consoled her.

"I hope you're right," the girl replied.

They changed the topic of conversation to more trivial matters and finished their meal. Tristan forgot all about his plans to go to the computer lab and do his homework while he listened to her musical voice.

Suddenly, the girl stopped and looked at her watch, "Oh my God! I've gotta go! My AES class starts in three minutes."

"I thought you said you didn't have to go to class!" Tristan pouted.

The girl smiled confidently. "I don't. I just like some of my classes a lot," she said while she cleared her table and disposed of the remains of her food. She picked up her small book bag and slung it over her shoulder.

She was about to leave when Tristan called, "Wait! I never got your name."

"So you didn't. If you ask nicely, maybe I'll give it to you in econ tomorrow," she said playfully. She threw him a wink and then left.

Tristan stared after her with butterflies in his stomach. There was something about her that he found undeniably alluring. Her voice was soft and sweet like Serenity's, and her skin was smooth and pure. Her frame was also lean and graceful like Serenity's. Otherwise, the two of them looked nothing alike. Maybe this girl could help him forget about Serenity. Maybe she would help him move on. After all, there was no way that Serenity would give up being with a rich and powerful man who saved her life for some nobody like him.

**Closing Notes**

I have been doing some fun stuff with my writer profile on facebook. I put together some virtual avatars of my characters and the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, so go check it out, like, share, tag other Yu-Gi-Oh! characters who have RPG profiles, etc. I'm K5Rakitan on facebook, too.


	25. Close Call

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Call Your Girlfriend" by Robyn

**Chapter 25 Close Call**

Yugi Moto lay on his stomach on the double bed in his dorm room talking to Tea Gardner on his cell-phone. After eloping with Ishizu and showing their marriage license to the student housing staff, they had been assigned a special dorm room with only one bed which they were expected to share. Ishizu and Yugi had not consummated their marriage yet, but sometimes Yugi woke up to find Ishizu's strong arms fully encircling his petite body. On mornings when he had to be somewhere, he found it quite inconvenient when he had to wiggle out of her grasp.

"I kind-of dated a guy for a while, but it all fell apart when I found out about the you-know-what and realized how much I love you. So…" Tea said hesitantly, "Are you seeing anyone?"

Yugi stared at Ishizu's numerous pairs of shoes, which were lined up neatly by the door. He never truly appreciated how many pairs of shoes a woman could own until he started living with one. His grandfather certainly never kept that many shoes around the house. "Sort-of—Tea, how many pairs of shoes do you have?" Yugi said hastily.

"Come on, Yugi! Don't change the subject. What's she like? Is it serious?" Tea insisted.

"She has fourteen pairs of shoes," Yugi said thoughtfully.

Tea laughed a little. "Well, she's obviously not a dancer. I can't even count the shoes I have. So, is it serious? Do you think it will last?"

"Um… I don't know if it will last. She's nice, but I miss you, Tea. It's just not the same," Yugi replied.

"Oh Yugi!" Tea cried, "You always know how to make me feel special. So, what's her name?"

"Ishizu," Yugi stated without enthusiasm.

"Ishizu? Is that spelled the same as the Ishizu we know? Is that a common name in Egypt?" Tea wondered.

"Um… yeah."

"Yugi, you're acting weird. It's like you don't want to talk to me or something. What's wrong?"

"Ishizu's brother Marik died in the… you know." Yugi said, almost choking on his words.

"Wait, so you _are_ dating Ishizu _Ishtar_! Yugi, why didn't you tell me?" Tea said, insecurity edging in her voice.

"It's not Ishtar anymore, Tea." Yugi said softly.

Tea was quiet for a few moments, then asked, "So, her husband died, too?"

"I'm… I'm her husband now—but it's not like that. It's complicated," Yugi tried to explain.

"What do you mean, Yugi? How can you get married and have it be 'not like that?'" Tea said, sounding upset.

Yugi opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say another word, Ishizu stormed into the room. She snatched the phone out of Yugi's hand and tore out the battery. She set the battery down on a small table beside the bed and handed the empty phone back to Yugi. Yugi stared up at his wife, speechless as she crossed her arms and glared down at him with hot blue flames in her eyes.

"Yugi, what cell-phone company do we use?" Ishizu said impatiently.

"Is this a trick question? Everyone knows that there is only one cell-phone company that services international calls: Global Communications."

Ishizu's voice grew more heated, and her eyes smoldered with dismal intent, "First of all, international calls don't exist anymore. Japan is just a territory now, not a nation. Do you realize who runs Global Communications?"

Yugi cautiously lifted himself off his stomach and retreated from her slowly until he had his back pressed against the pillows. "Um… Bakura, right?" he said in a small voice.

"That's right, and do you realize what that means?" Ishizu said. If she wasn't consciously controlling the volume of her voice, it would have been a yell, but instead it sounded more like a crazed whisper.

Yugi drew his knees into his chest and hugged them. "No, what does it mean?"

"You can't tell anyone about the millennium items, not even your best friends, over the phone. Bakura is listening to everything you say."

"How did you know that I was about to tell her?" Yugi asked suspiciously.

Ishizu loosened the white scarf that covered her neck and hair, and then let it fall to the floor. There at her throat gleamed the gold eye of the millennium necklace. "I've taken to wearing it constantly. Sometimes it shows me things I don't want to see, but to protect the other millennium items I must wear it. My students ask why I suddenly started wearing the headscarf all the time. So I tell them that I converted to Islam. They applauded me for that." Ishizu took a deep breath. "Yugi, do you realize how hard this is for me?"

"Being Muslim?" Yugi asked.

"No, explaining to my friends why you're not Muslim, too. I just wish you would support me a little more," she said, her voice cracking a little.

Yugi stared at her for a moment, shocked at her display of vulnerability. She hadn't been this upset since the day her brother died. "I'll do what I can to help, but you know that I plan on going back to Japan when this is all over, right? Tea is waiting for me."

Ishizu turned and walked over to a large steel bookshelf which housed all of the textbooks she had read as an undergraduate plus some that she had read for fun. She thumbed through them until she came to one called, "Social Psychology." She pulled it off the shelf and opened the index. After locating what she was seeking, she flipped to the proper page and placed the book in front of Yugi. Yugi released his knees and picked up the book.

There, right before his eyes, was a graph that made him feel queasy. On the vertical axis was "marital satisfaction." One the horizontal axis was "time in years." Two lines flowed across the graph. One was labeled "marriages for love" while the other was labeled "arranged marriages." The line for love initially started higher than the arranged line and sloped upwards slightly. Marital satisfaction for couples who married for love peaked at year three, and then took a plunge. At year five, it intersected the other line and continued to drop over time. However, the line for marital satisfaction in arranged marriages rose steadily over time. By year fifteen, marital satisfaction for couples in arranged marriages soared high above marital satisfaction for couples who had married for love.

Yugi looked up at Ishizu with tears in his purple eyes. "It _can't_ be! My Tea… How could I ever stop loving my Tea?"

Ishizu climbed into bed with Yugi and held him in her arms. "You might never stop loving Tea for all I know. The millennium necklace does not show me everything. Keep in mind that this data is based on averages, and there are exceptions to the rule. All I want you to do is to give this marriage a real chance, not some half-hearted try. If you still feel this strongly about her after you graduate, then by all means go back to her. Just don't expect her to wait in the meantime. You can't tell her about the millennium items anyway, so just tell her that you're married and leave it at that."

"I already did tell her, right before you took the battery out of my phone."

"Good."

Yugi leaned into his wife's lean and firm body, pressing his spiky red-tipped black hair under her chin. As an archaeologist, Ishizu had a little more muscle than Tea from lifting heavy pieces of equipment. "Ishizu, do you have anything else in that book to make this easier?"

"Maybe." Ishizu reached her arm under Yugi's and flipped to the beginning of the book, then turned the pages forward one-by-one, scanning them briefly as she went. After skipping a few basic concepts, she came to a section on cognitive dissonance and stopped. She drew her hand back to Yugi's waist and gave him a little squeeze as he started to read.

**Works Cited:**

An exploratory study of love and liking and type of marriages. Gupta, Usha; Singh, Pushpa. Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 19(2), Jul 1982, 92-97.


	26. When Sean Came Marching Home

**Author's Note:** This is the closest that the OCs get to the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters in the prequel. They meet more formally later.

**Music Lover's Alert:** I've decided that "Land of Confusion" by Disturbed is pretty much Sean's theme song… that and "Beekeeper's Daughter" by The All-American Rejects.

**Chapter 26 When Sean Came Marching Home**

Joan and Tam stood in front of the exit to flight 042 holding a sign that said, "Welcome Home, Sean." Tam wore a sleek black strapless dress and rugged black boots that would have looked horrible on anyone else but her. Her long, natural blond hair was braided to keep it out of her face, and her sharp amber eyes shone brightly. Joan wore a green halter dress with strappy red heels. She left her long auburn hair loose around her shoulders.

Beside them stood a somewhat chubby and short woman of about sixty who had dyed her graying hair back to its natural red color. She had squeezed into a red evening dress much like Joan's, except that it was four sizes too small for her. Her name was Maria Carson, and she was Sean's mother. Sean had given Joan her phone number so that they could coordinate meeting him at the airport as soon as he got off the plane. While they waited, the woman bounced with excitement and spoke endlessly about how her son was so brave in serving his country, even though Japan was no longer a country.

Three soldiers emerged from the plane. One was a man with light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. His build was extremely muscular, and matched that of his darker companion, who appeared to be of African descent. The third soldier had flaming red hair and was much less massive in build, but from the confident yet subtle glint in his chocolate eyes, one got the impression that he was the superior warrior. The red-headed soldier bumped fists with the other two, and then they parted ways. The two burly soldiers went to greet a muscular black man, a muscular white man, and a strong mulatto woman. The red-headed warrior went to greet Maria, Joan, and Tam.

Maria Carson cried with glee and hugged her son close. For a few minutes, Sean did not object, but after a while he began to worry about that she might never let go again. "Mom, it's OK. I'm not going to leave again," he consoled.

Joan and Tam exchanged glances and giggled. The sight of a seasoned soldier being smothered by his mother struck them as adorable and ludicrous at the same time.

Maria released her son and wiped a few tears from her eyes. "I know that, pumpkin. It's just been so long."

Sean turned to the eighteen year-old girls and offered them hugs as well. "Hi Joan! Hi Tamara! I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

"Just call me Tam," the girl in black said, smiling broadly and giving him a flirtatious look with her amber eyes. "So, any chance you want to catch a movie with me after this, handsome?"

Joan elbowed Tam in the ribs. "_Hey!_ That's _my_ pen-pal you're talking to."

"Yeah, but _I_ saw him first, _remember_? You wouldn't even look at his picture until _I_ told you how cute he was." Tam countered.

Sean swiftly moved in-between the girls to separate them and put an arm around each girl's shoulder. "Ladies, _please_! There's plenty of me to go around."

Tam and Joan glared at him suspiciously. "All guys say that," Joan said.

Sean chucked a little. "Well, it's true. I learned a lot of things from my comrades while I was serving. Do you see that family over there?" Sean pointed to the two solders with which he had been traveling and waved to them, then started guiding the girls towards baggage claim while his mother walked a few steps behind them.

The girls examined the family closely. The two younger men looked almost nothing alike except for their gigantic muscles. However, if one looked closely, one could see that their mouths and eyes looked a lot like the features of the mulatto woman that they both hugged. The older men, who had just as much muscle as their younger counterparts, smiled from ear to ear as they talked with the soldiers.

"They're heteropaternal twins," Sean explained, "They have the same birthday, so they were drafted at the same time. They make a really amazing team, too. They're like Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard; always watching each other's backs."

"Swamp _what?_" Tam asked.

Sean and his entourage stopped in front of a huge conveyor belt and watched closely as various pieces of luggage passed by them. "It's a Duel Monsters card. The guys and I sometimes played cards to pass the time, and Duel Monsters was more interesting than the standard four suit card games." Sean spotted his bag and let go of the girls to retrieve it. He hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and asked, "So, what are we doing now?"

Maria stepped forward. "Let's go get something to eat. I know you must be sick of all that army food, so I figured I would take you and your friends to the nicest restaurant in Kobe. I made reservations a week ago when I first found out that you were coming home."

"Sounds good to me," Sean replied.

Maria led the young adults out to her car. While unlocking the door, she looked back at Sean. He was already twenty four, but to her he would always be her little boy. She worried about him constantly. She had heard horror stories from other mothers about post-traumatic stress syndrome, but Sean had always been a resilient boy. He seemed to be able to pick up new skills instantly, and he always had a way with the ladies. Even when he was an infant, young women would spot him at the grocery store or at church and declare that he was the most adorable baby they had ever seen.

Sean said something funny, and the two girls giggled as they got into the car. Maria drove them to a seafood restaurant with valet parking and they all got out of the vehicle.

Sean looked down at his military uniform. "Um… I'm really not dressed for a place like this."

"Nonsense. You're a national hero. You're welcome anywhere in Japan no matter-" Sean's mother started.

"-Mom, there _is_ no Japan. How can I be a national hero when there _are_ no nations?"

A chilly wind swirled around the bare legs of the women, and they shivered where they stood. "Let's just go inside," Maria said.

The four of them made their way inside the restaurant and sat down at the table that had been prepared for them. Just as Maria had said, Sean's attire was fine because nobody in the restaurant objected to his presence. In fact, they didn't even bother to look twice at him. Actually, it could have been that they were just avoiding eye contact with him.

Sean's family and friends opened their menus and started looking over the selection. Sean and Tam both picked lobster while Joan had oysters and Mrs. Carson had scallops. As they ate, Sean spoke more about some of the fine men he had met in the army. With the exception of the heteropaternal twins, all of Sean's closest companions had lost their lives. As the meal progressed, the conversation became increasingly more depressing. To take a short break from Sean's dismal recollections, the ladies excused themselves for the restroom one-by-one.

…

Joey, Mai, Serenity, Seto, and Mokuba all went to the finest seafood restaurant they knew to celebrate the anniversary of the bet that Joey and Seto had made regarding Serenity. Since circumstances had changed for all of them, Seto decided to waive his right to see Joey in a dog costume and accept Serenity as his prize instead.

Unlike the last time they had visited the restaurant, Joey was dressed appropriately. Mai had helped him pick out a suit and tie which allowed him to blend in with the other guests. Seto and Mokuba wore their blue tuxedos while Mai and Serenity wore snazzy cocktail dresses. As they walked into the restaurant, Serenity took Seto's arm and Mai took Joey's arm, leaving Mokuba feeling awkwardly like a fifth wheel.

They made their way into the restaurant and sat down. "Don't let Wheeler order lobster," Seto cautioned to Mai as they took their seats. Mai gave Seto a questioning look, but aided him in his quest to avoid embarrassment by strongly suggesting to Joey that he order something more nutritious and filling on the menu.

The first part of the evening was very pleasant and quiet. Mai's presence seemed to have a calming effect on Joey, and he did not make any major social blunders. They talked mainly about Duel Monsters and how they could be used to teach standard high school subjects such as chemistry, math, and history. They also discussed some of the interesting things that they had found on Duel Academy Island. However, one topic still weighed on their minds that nobody dared to discuss. When Seto gave up his temporary ownership of Ecuador for permanent ownership of five pieces of land that he could use for a dueling school, he also gave up most of his power in the present oligarchy that had just united the world. The amount of power that each corporation acquired in the new government was proportional to the amount of war debt that had been owed to it. The treaty that had officially ended all war was more of a contract that absolved the countries of their war debt on the condition that they turned over control of their government to a designated CEO. The union of all of the world's territories had happened slowly and quietly as local governments caved to pressure and threats from Bakura and his fellow CEOs. Thanks to the contributions of Gilbert Jones's Stellar Defense satellite system, most of the opposition to Bakura's vision had been eliminated. Of course, this was hardly polite dinner conversation.

As Mai, Joey, Seto, and Mokuba talked about what they had done on the island, Serenity couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to her if she _wasn't_ on the island. She could have died in the initial "accidental test blast" that Stellar Defense had conducted, or she could have died later in one of the protest marches through Domino City when all of the dissenters were gathered in one place and made an easy target. Not knowing, yet wondering endlessly was giving her a headache. She wondered what it would have been like to be in the middle of the crowd when the blasts started coming down from the sky if she had not figured out what was going to happen beforehand. If she hadn't been kept away from all the action by Seto, would she have had the courage to join them?

Suddenly, Serenity realized that it wasn't just her head that was aching, but her lower abdomen as well. The pain was familiar to her, but it was a day early. Serenity excused herself to go to the restroom.

…

As Tam was washing her hands, she received a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a girl about her age with light auburn hair and olivine eyes in a lovely rose-colored dress. "Excuse me, but do you happen to have a spare tampon I could use?" the stranger said.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Tam replied. She opened up her purse and took out a small tube wrapped in paper. She handed it to the auburnette. "Here. I've never needed it, but my best friend insists that I carry one with me just in case."

The girl's olivine eyes widened, "Never needed it? How can that be? I don't mean to pry or anything. It's just that I want to be a nurse someday and I find these things fascinating."

Tam laughed a little. "Well, my doctor says it's because of all the sports I do. She says that if I ever want to have children, I'll have to stop working out for a while. Weird, huh? I don't worry about it too much, though. My best friend says that periods are awful and that I'm very lucky."

"Wow! Cool! Thanks for the tampon," the girl said brightly.

"No problem," Tam replied.

Tam went back out to join the group and sat down beside Joan.

"But Sean, you can't go back and change things. Just because we achieved peace through different means doesn't mean that your actions were pointless. You did what you thought was right, and that's what counts," Mrs. Carson was saying.

"But _mom_, the world is not better than it was before. Don't you get it? Sure we managed to achieve a temporary peace, but people don't want to be ruled by corporations. We've got to _do_ something. In fact, we should be in the streets right now," Sean said fervently.

There was a moment of silence around the dinner table until Joan said in a whisper, "We already _tried_."

"Really? What happened?" Sean asked with interest.

Joan leaned in closer to Sean and whispered in his ear for a few minutes, then pulled back. In a slightly louder voice, she said, "Gilbert Jones eliminated all opposition to the new regime in one fell swoop when he did that." Lowering her voice once more, she continued, "If he ever found out that he missed some of us, we would be toast."

Sean looked at Joan with deep worry in his chocolate eyes. "So, what can we do now?"

Tam and Joan exchanged glances, and then Joan spoke again in a hushed tone. "Well, it's going to take some time for us to figure that out. We were thinking of starting an underground movement, but first we need to gather together enough people to make it work. Tam and I both got into Tokyo University. If we can find enough people who think the way we do there, we think we can get something accomplished."

Sean leaned in close to Joan and whispered, "Can I join, too?"

"Absolutely!" Joan whispered back, "We need people who can run stealth operations. Since you survived the war, I think that's a pretty good indication that you have what it takes."

Sean smiled slyly, and was much happier throughout the rest of the meal.

…

When Serenity got back, everyone was staring at her. "What?" She asked nervously, worried that she might have a stain on her dress.

"Serenity, hun. Your boyfriend has something he'd like to say to you," Mai said gravely. Although she kept a straight face, there was a twinkle in her violet eyes.

Seto stood up slowly, and then dropped to one knee. He dug in his pocket and took out a flat, square box that was about ten centimeters wide. He held it in front of him and cleared his throat. "Serenity, you have been such a good friend to me over the past year. Your brother was right when he said that friends could teach me a lot of lessons. He also says that you have a dream—one that you don't talk about often because you are afraid that it will never come true. I know it's a little soon to bring this up, but I want to do it now because I don't want you to lose sight of that dream. Serenity, will you…" Seto paused for dramatic effect and prepared to lift the lid of the box. "Will you let me put you through nursing school?"

Seto opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver charm bracelet. It had a stethoscope, a thermometer, a syringe, a blood pressure monitor, a crutch, and a few other pieces of medical equipment that Serenity could not make out because her eyes were already blurring with tears. "Oh Seto! This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me! How did you know?" She held her arm out and let him put the bracelet around her wrist.

Mai spoke up, "That little piece of work showed up in my jewelry store about a month ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was for you. I had a feeling that you and Kaiba were going together, and I still had his phone number from way back when I was testing virtual games for him." Mai gave Seto a little smirk as if she was recalling a secret that she would never spill. "So, Kaiba wired the money over to the jewelry shop and we've been keeping it for you ever since."

Serenity launched herself at Mai and gave her a big hug, then turned back to Seto and kissed him full on the lips. Mokuba rolled his eyes, but nobody noticed. Nobody ever paid any attention to him. He should have just stayed home and played video games instead of bothering to get all dressed up and having to watch the sweet, innocent girl of his dreams get wooed by his brother's money. Mokuba suspected that as soon as the courting phase was over, Seto would neglect her just like all the other CEOs neglected their wives. He was torn between trying to do what was best for her and staying on his brother's good side. What he did not know was how deeply they really felt about each other.

**Closing Note: **There you go! More Seto and Serenity sweetness. Please review! I know it has been dark so far, but we're moving into some lighter stuff.

Also, there were a few technical changes to Chapter 23. Nothing changed in the plot, but I just wanted to make it more realistic.


	27. Father's Blessing

**Music Lover's Alert:** For this chapter, I recommend "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." I prefer the Eric Clapton version, but the original version by Bob Dylan works, too. If you like Eric Clapton's work, "My Father's Eyes" also kinda goes with this chapter.

**Chapter 27 Father's Blessing**

Over the next few months, Serenity became even more devoted to her studies than usual. She studied at home, she studied after school with Mokuba, she even studied on her weekly train trips to visit her father in the hospital. When she saw him, she told him about her boyfriend and how she could finally make her dream of becoming a nurse come true. Her father encouraged her, and her thirst for knowledge increased tenfold. She passed all of her exams with flying colors, and when summer came, she couldn't figure out what to do with herself, so she visited her local library and checked out some old medical textbooks. When she read them, she kept a dictionary handy. However, sometimes the medical textbooks contained terms that weren't in the dictionary. In such cases, she often wrote them down and brought them to her boyfriend, the smartest person she knew.

"Seto, what does heteropaternal mean?" she asked, "Does it have anything to do with heteroplasty or heterophylous?"

Seto, who was sitting beside her on a white leather couch in the living room of the Kaiba mansion working on his laptop, stretched his arms and put one around her shoulder. He leaned over her dictionary and scanned the words on the page. "What's the word you want again?"

"Heteropaternal. The medical book talks about heteropaternal twins. It says that there were only eight documented cases between 1960 and whenever this book was published, but that most cases probably go unreported because most parents either don't want to know or pretend not to know."

"I could see why they would pretend not to know. Hetero- means different, and -paternal refers to the father. So, if a mother has children from two different fathers, it could be quite the scandal. What does it say about the two documented cases?"

Serenity frowned and quickly re-read that section of her textbook. "Not much. These books are always so… sterile. They just give information without any personal touches."

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? Those books are already long enough as it is. Why waste your time reading someone's life story?" Seto said coldly.

"It's just that… What if someday I deliver a set of heteropaternal twins and they look totally different from each other and the mother knows, but she is afraid that her husband will find out and she wants me to take care of one of the babies for her. What am I supposed to do?" Serenity spoke rapidly as she described the scenario.

Seto gave her a patronizing kiss on her forehead. "My, my. Don't you have an active imagination? Why are you always wondering about things that are probably never going to happen?"

"I don't know. I just have this funny feeling like something-" A melodious chime interrupted Serenity's train of thought, and she dug in the pocket of her jeans to answer it. She quickly placed her phone to her hear and said, "What's up, Joey?" As she listened to the voice on the other end of the line, her face grew pale. The phone conversation was short, and she when she put down the phone she said softly, "Seto, it's my father. He's not doing well. I need to go see him. This could be the last time."

The CEO hesitated for a moment, looking from his computer to his girlfriend as if he was having a hard time making up his mind. At last, he shut down his computer and took her by the hand. "Let's go together. I'll give you a ride."

Seto spoke briefly into a small device embedded in the collar of his trench coat, and then led Serenity out front. As they walked down the marble steps of the Kaiba mansion, Seto's electric limo pulled up in front of them smoothly and silently. The driver hopped out to open the door for them, then got back in and started driving in the direction of the hospital.

Seto put his arms around Serenity and held her close to him as they traveled. "When I lost my parents, I never had the chance to say good-bye. It happened so suddenly that I…" Seto shook slightly as he tried to hold back his tears.

Serenity was astounded by his rare display of emotion, but did not comment on it. Instead, she just grabbed his hand and squeezed it. They continued the rest of the ride in silence.

When they got to the hospital, Joey and Mai were already standing by Samuel's side. Even though Samuel Wheeler was only fifty nine years old, he had been sick for a long time and he seemed to know what was coming.

Serenity approached her father's bed and took his right hand. "Hi Dad. I'm here. I brought my boyfriend Seto, too. I thought you'd like to meet him."

"Come here so I can get a better look at you," Samuel croaked, gesturing weakly at the tall CEO with his left hand.

Seto walked up to the bald, decrepit man with uncertainty. He had never been in a public hospital before, so the sights and smells were nauseating to him. However, he forced a pleasant smile on his face as he leaned closer to his girlfriend's father. "Mr. Wheeler, you have a wonderful daughter. You should be very proud of her."

"I… know," Samuel wheezed, "Take good… care of her. Keep her… happy."

Seto nodded, and Samuel Wheeler closed his cloudy hazel eyes in satisfaction. Two seconds later, his heart rate monitor flatlined. Serenity burst into tears and hugged the corpse of her father, then felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She drew away from her father and looked into the icy blue eyes of the CEO of Kaiba Corporation. "Get used to it," he said, "This is one of those things that probably _will_ happen a lot when you're a nurse."

"I know," Serenity replied with a sniffle, "but none of them will be my father."

"You have a point there. Most people only get one father," Seto replied.

"Most people?" Serenity asked.

"With the exception of adopted children and heteropaternal twins," Seto added with a smile.

"Homo-plastic twins?" Joey asked, confused.

Serenity laughed harder, and Seto let out a chuckle as well. "Medical textbook vocabulary," he informed them.

Mai and Joey looked at each other and shrugged. Then, everyone become more serious again and started making preparations for the funeral. It was a simple but respectable event. Since Joey did not have much money from his job as a mechanic, Mai chipped in some of her own cash from the jewelry store. Seto wanted to contribute as well, but Serenity would not let him contribute any more than Mai and Joey were able to pay.

**Closing Note:** Please remember to review! I love getting feedback :)


	28. Shopping for People

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore and "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson. "Call me Maybe" is for Kris. **"**Crushcrushcrush" is partly for Tímo and partly for Kris. It is for everybody, really.

**Chapter 28 Shopping for People**

Joan, Tam, Sean, Jessica, and Katie sat around a small outdoor picnic table at Tokyo University. Jessica had a notepad in front of her so that they could keep records of their meetings. Since the girls were no longer required to wear school uniforms, they had adopted more diverse wardrobes. Katie's outfit was by far the flashiest. She wore a black skirt with a hot pink tank top, and had carefully done her eye shadow to match. Sean, on the other hand, stuck with a plain pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt. He sometimes donned his old military uniform, but he felt that it made him look conspicuous and he was not interested in attracting attention today.

They all laid their cell-phones out on the table and took the batteries out to prevent Global Enterprises from recording their conversations. It was a small symbol of their trust in each other.

"So, what are we going to call ourselves?" Jessica wondered.

"Let's worry about that later. The less we know now, the less government agents can pump us for information if we get caught," Joan advised.

"Yeah, but shouldn't we have some code names or something?" Katie asked, her bleached blond hair shining in the sun.

"Maybe later. Let's focus on the basics for now. We need to recruit more people first. Remember that time when Adam did some research on that corporation for us? We need someone like him only better; someone who can really hack into government computer systems."

Jessica made a note on her paper. "So, we're developing some sort of 'shopping list' for people, right? OK, who else do we want?"

"We need more stealth operators. Sean and I can do most of that work, but our job is the most dangerous. If anything happens to us, it would be good to have some backup," Tam said. She had chosen a primarily black wardrobe of turtlenecks and tights in preparation for her future duties, but on a hot day like today, such attire would have been impractical. Instead, she wore a tube top and Capri pants with her long, natural blond hair pulled out of her face and braided.

"Good point. Highly trained people are hard to find, so we should start looking now. Jessica, add gymnasts, soldiers, athletes, etcetera to our list," Joan said.

"While we're on the subject, I just found out that the place where they trained your father and me is up for sale. It's really cheap, too. If we want some sort of headquarters, I think we should grab it," Sean said as he placed a newspaper advertisement in the center of the table. It had a picture of a large, dingy building surrounded by tall grasses. It came with a parking lot in front and a tall chain-link fence around it. It was perhaps the ugliest building that they had ever seen, but they couldn't argue with the price. It was being sold for a mere two semesters of their tuition.

"Wait, if we buy this thing and then we get caught trying to bring down the government, won't we all be exposed? The deed will be in one of our names. We'll be easy to trace," Joan said.

"I think I know how to solve that problem, but we'll need our hacker first. We're facing a chicken-and-egg dilemma," Jessica said.

"So, how do we do it?" Joan asked.

"We need to make a fake corporation with a fake CEO," Jessica said.

"That's what I've been saying all along! We need code names!" Katie said in an exasperated tone.

"Something like that, but I had something else in mind. The corporation we create will be more like a decoy. You see, since the world is run by corporations, nobody will expect to find a bunch of rebels in the same location as a corporation," Jessica elaborated.

"So, it would be like a double-cross?" Katie asked.

Jessica smiled. "Exactly."

For a moment, everyone around the table exchanged grins. Then, Joan looked at her watch. "Oh no! I've gotta get to my calculus class. See you all later!" Joan swept her cell-phone and its battery into her backpack, and then waved good-bye to her friends. She put on her backpack and retrieved her bicycle from a nearby bicycle rack. Then, she peddled as fast as she could towards her class. Her bicycle was well-tuned and the tires were properly inflated, so she zipped across campus in no time.

When she got there, the lecture hall was empty except for a few students. Joan sat down in one of the front rows and looked around nervously. She looked several rows behind her and saw a dashing young man with neatly trimmed brown hair and electric blue eyes. "Um… am I in the right class?" she asked.

The man looked down at her with a spark in his eye. "Well, if you're here for an introductory calculus class, you're ten minutes early."

Joan relaxed. "Good. Say, do you know of any geeky clubs on campus like a computer programming club or something?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Um… I'm sort-of looking for a geek."

The man scanned her thoroughly. She had rich, dark curls, symmetric facial features, and captivating sea-green eyes. At least, that's how they appeared from a distance. She wore a green halter top that showed some of her cleavage, but left the rest to the imagination. There was a certain something pure about her that intrigued him, but he couldn't quite place his finger on exactly what it was. "Doll, a woman like you can do better than that. If you really want a geek, though, I'll turn into one for you."

Joan laughed. "You don't understand. I…" Joan hesitated, realizing that she should not reveal too much about her friend's plans to a stranger, especially when she had to speak in a loud voice so that he could hear her from several meters away and there were others present in the room. "…nevermind. I… um… just wanted some advice on what kind of laptop to get. I'm a freshman, so I don't have one yet."

The man smiled at her. More students started to enter the lecture hall, but he simply talked over their heads as if they weren't there. "Well, I'm no geek, but I'm also not a freshman, so I could give you a few pointers on laptops. Meet me after class and we'll talk more."

"Sounds cool! See you then," Joan replied before turning her attention to the front of the room. The professor had just arrived and was starting to write his office hours on the board for the students to copy.

…..

After class, Joan carefully waded through the masses of students until she found the man that she had spoken with earlier. He was much shorter than he first appeared standing several rows above her in the lecture hall, but somehow his stature did not detract from his good looks at all. "Ready?" he asked.

"Sure. One thing first, though. What's your name?" Joan asked.

"Timothy, but that's too long, so my friends call me Tímo."

"Tímo," Joan repeated, "That's nice. It rolls off the tongue easily. I'm Joan." Joan stood by Timothy while he unlocked his bicycle, and then unlocked hers.

"Would that be Joan as in Saint Joan of Arc?" Timothy asked as they mounted their vehicles.

"Yes. My parents were Catholic."

"Were?"

"They're gone now. Let's talk not talk about it. What about you? You said that you're not a freshman, so what are you doing taking an introductory calculus class?"

"I'm trying to get into graduate school. You see, I got a BA instead of a BS, so I never took calculus in the first place. I'm just taking the one class while I figure out what to do with the rest of my life"

"So, you were in college last year?"

Timothy nodded.

"Did you see the big… you-know-what here?" Joan said, pulling her bicycle closer to his and lowering her voice as much as possible as they rode.

"You'll have to be more specific."

"The Stellar Defense satellite discharge. I would think that Tokyo University got it bad, but nobody ever talks about it."

"Oh, _that_. I was sick with a cold that day, so I missed it all. I was hanging out with a really cute dancer chick who brought me some chicken soup. Then, she turned on the news and found out that her ex-boyfriend's university had been hit and went ballistic. You don't have any ex-boyfriends on the other side of the globe that you refuse to let go, do you?"

"Nope. No weird ex-boyfriend problems. No ex-boyfriends at all, actually," Joan said.

Timothy breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Good!"

They pulled up to the campus computer store, locked their bicycles, and went inside.

Joan was instantly attracted by a bright Schroeder Corporation Electronics display. The prices seemed a lot lower than all the other brands, too. "What about these?" she asked.

"Oh _no_. No-no-no-no-no-no! One of these is guaranteed to break down just after six months, which is when the warranty expires. I've known a few people who bought those thinking that they were a good deal. In case I didn't make myself clear, _no_!" Timothy grabbed Joan's hand and pulled her away from the display and put her in front of a rack of Industrial Illusions laptops. "These guys have been making really good computers lately. In fact, they've driven several other companies out of business. I have no idea why those silly Schroeder computers are still on the shelves at all."

"Well," said Joan thoughtfully, "Let's ask."

Joan sought out a store employee with long, straight sand-colored hair pulled back into a ponytail and square-framed glasses that were slightly askew. He had a nametag that read, "Kris" on his blue store uniform.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering something. My friend says that Schroeder computers are no good. If that's the case, why are you still selling them?"

Kris straightened his glasses, lowered his voice, and drew close to her. "To tell you the truth, I don't know, either. I think that the manager gets paid a certain amount of money just to put them on the shelves. It's ludicrous in my opinion. There are much better computers out there."

"Better than Industrial Illusions?" Joan asked.

"Well, Industrial Illusions computers are quite good, but they all have an extra program that monitors your activities and reports anything suspicious to the government. It eats up RAM, and your computer would run a lot faster without it," Kris said underneath his breath.

Joan batted her eyelashes at him. "Could you remove this program for me?" she asked.

Kris drew back suddenly. "Maybe, but that's illegal. You couldn't pay me to do it."

"I'm not offering to pay you," Joan said, gazing at him steadily.

Kris gazed back at her with equal intensity, and then a little smile crossed his lips. He was about to say something else, but Timothy stepped between them. "I get it now," the short yet handsome man said.

"You do?" Joan asked, blinking at him innocently.

"Yeah. You're playing hard-to get. Well, it's working. You got my attention. Now, stop flirting with this dork and let's get out of here."

Joan blinked again. Now that Timothy was closer to her, he could see that her eyes were not sea green at all, but blue with gold flecks. "I was just shopping," she said innocently.

"Shopping for people, maybe. Why on earth would you want an illegal operation performed on your computer? Come on! Just pick one and let's get out of here."

Joan examined the man between her and the salesman. He was indeed a fine specimen. Although he was a little shorter than her, he seemed to be full of vitality. Plus, even though he did not catch on entirely to her plan, he seemed to be very perceptive. "All right. I'll get an Industrial Illusions laptop. So… would you like to get some coffee and study with me?"

Timothy grinned. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Kris picked up a boxed laptop and carried it to the checkout counter for Joan. When Timothy wasn't looking, Joan mouthed, "We'll talk later," to Kris and winked.

After Joan paid for the computer, Timothy escorted her to a coffee shop and they sat down to discuss what they had learned in Calculus.

**-Public Service Announcement-**

I have been informed that intends to purge all M-rated stories with yaoi, yuri, lemons, rape, extreme violence, etc. Essentially, that means that the M-rating would be reduced to the level of the current T-rating and this story would have to be rated M. The sequel would also disappear.

In response to this censorship, several people have organized a blackout date on June 23, 2012 (according to GTM timing). I was first informed of this by Cosmic Kiss, who was informed by someone else, so the word is getting around and we have significant support for this. The point is to essentially boycott for a day to send the message that we want writers to have the freedom to express themselves unhindered as they have been doing for the past several years through the M rating. Since gets its revenue from the advertisements that come in-between our clicks, they will lose a full day's worth of profit if we do not read, update, send private messages, or do anything else that involves clicking on the site.

Nothing speaks more powerfully than money in this society, so I hope that you will join me in this day of protest and pass on the word to everyone you can ASAP before the blackout date. It is a simple, nonviolent way for us to make ourselves heard. I promise that no orange lasers will jump out from your computer and strike you down.

Again, that's June 23 GTM. If you happen to be reading this on June 23 GTM, I please ask you to logout now and save your reviews for tomorrow. I am still looking forward to reading them, but just not until June 24 GTM.


	29. SERENITY!

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Use Me" by Bill Withers and/or "Sweet Dreams" - Eurythmics version, depending on what you like better. I'm not too fond on the Marylin Manson version of "Sweet Dreams," but if any of you are, enjoy!

**Author's Note: **I'd Like to thank China Smith for winning my contest earlier and naming the OC in this chapter Cynthia Donahue. Since China Smith suggested that Cynthia would look somewhat like Ellie Goulding, I would have worked in an Ellie Goulding song if I thought it would have worked with this chapter, but I think I've already got some reserved for a Timothy Saunders chapter.

I would also like to thank everyone who participated in the June 23 blackout. I only got twelve hits on my stories that day, and no e-mail alerts, so I would call that a success. A bunch of us also made it into an event on Facebook and had a lot of fun doing some roleplay, discussing which Yu-Gi-Oh! characters were hotter, and making new friends. If you would like to meet this awesome group of people, you can join the blackout reunion group on Facebook. It is called "Fanfiction authors of the World, UNITE!"

**Chapter 29 SERENITY!**

When Serenity returned to school for her 11th year, she was keenly aware of how all social interaction with her peers suddenly seemed so trivial. The students would gossip about who was wearing the latest trends and whose clothes were "so two weeks ago." Unfortunately, some of the gossip was about her as well.

A reporter had published an article about Samuel Wheeler's funeral which featured a photograph of "the Wheeler children mourning with their significant others." Since Seto Kaiba's white trench coat distinctively identified him in the photograph and he had graduated from Domino High School only a few years ago, everyone paid attention. Some of the nicer students offered their condolences to her, but most of them whispered behind her back. They said things along the lines of, "I bet she conned him into being her boyfriend," or, "He's probably going to dump her as soon as she gets over her loss."

Mokuba experienced similar, more blatant comments from the guys in his class. They tended to say things like, "Dude! Your older brother is dating someone your age and you like, have nobody." Since pretty much all of the brave individuals who once attended their school had been incinerated the previous year and Mokuba had nobody to stand up for him, he had to develop his own responses to their comments. Most of the time, he just imitated his older brother by saying flatly, "your point?"

After a few months of school, the rumors abated and the students turned their attention to other matters. However, since Serenity and Mokuba did not make any lasting friendships with other people, they became much closer and developed some good habits. On most days, they would go to Kaiba Corporation to study until Seto got off work. On other days, they would go to Mokuba's favorite gym to get exercise. Mokuba's already firm muscles developed even more as his testosterone levels naturally increased. Within a very short time, the whispers and giggles about the handsome older Kaiba brother stopped and girls started flirting with Mokuba instead.

One day after school, Mokuba met Serenity with a cute blonde hanging onto one of his bulging biceps with both of her skinny, spray tanned arms, which were covered with gold and silver bracelets. Although the school bell had only rung two minutes ago, she had already changed out of her uniform and into a hot pink halter top with a pair of denim shorts that barely covered her firm, round buttocks. On her feet were a pair of gold gladiator sandals and on her face were a pair of large black oval sunglasses with brown lenses. "Serenity, this is Cynthia Donahue. Is it OK if she studies with us?"

Before Serenity could answer, Cynthia burst out with, "Oh my God! You're the chick who picked that stuck-up CEO for a boyfriend instead of Mokuba! How could you do such a thing when Mokuba is _way_ cuter? Oh well. I guess I should be thanking you because Mokuba is _all mine_ now."

Serenity coughed slightly. "That stuck-up CEO happens to be Mokuba's older brother."

Cynthia took off her big black oval sunglasses and rested them on top of her waist length bleached blond hair. Her brown eyes widened when she got a better look at Serenity and connected her face with the photograph from the funeral. _Poor girl! She doesn't even have real clothes to change into after school. She's still in her school uniform. Why doesn't she hit up her boyfriend for money? _Cynthia thought. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. I'm _so_ sorry!" Cynthia said in a tone of forced sympathy.

Serenity gave Mokuba a quizzical look, but did not comment further on his choice of companions. She just couldn't figure out what Mokuba saw in her. "Thanks. Um… let's go study," she said.

Serenity led the group to Kaiba Corporation, walking just in front of Mokuba and Cynthia. Cynthia kept a firm grip on Mokuba's arm with one hand and held used her other hand to check her Blackberry for the latest gossip. "So, there's this one slut named in our history class who slept with two guys in the same night and now she doesn't know who the father is."

Serenity turned around briefly. "Did she have an ultrasound yet?"

"No. She just took a pregnancy test. She's probably going to have an abortion instead of having the baby, but the thing is that she doesn't know which guy to hit up for the money. Isn't that disgusting?" Cynthia gabbed.

"What if both of the guys are fathers?" Serenity asked.

Cynthia looked at Serenity as if she was from another planet. "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Mokuba said that you were smart, but I didn't believe him. After all, you're going out with-"

"—Cynthia, stop it. Serenity read medical textbooks all summer long. She knows what she's talking about," Mokuba interjected.

Cynthia fell silent and stayed that way for the rest of the walk. She focused all her attention on her smart phone, completely ignoring Serenity and Mokuba. However, by the time they got to Kaiba Corporation and settled into their studies, she seemed to have forgotten Mokuba's harsh words to her. She sat as close as she possibly could to him and took out a pink mechanical pencil with a fluffy ball on the end to do her homework.

A few minutes after they arrived, Seto poked his head into Mokuba's office and said. "Good, you're here. Serenity, I want your opinion on the Duel Academy uniforms."

"Sure," Serenity said, putting down her books and joining Seto in his office.

While Serenity was gone, Cynthia slid closer to Mokuba and slowly started climbing into his lap. "What are you doing?" Mokuba asked nervously.

"I just want to get to know my handsome hunk better," she said in a tone that one would normally use to address an infant.

"Cynthia, get off me. This isn't going to work."

"But you never even gave me a chance! Come on, let me show you what I can do for you," she pleaded. Her hand went to the buckle on his pants and started to undo it.

Mokuba gently took her hand and moved it away from his nether region. "Cynthia, I appreciate how you told Serenity that I'm the better man, but you can't go insulting my brother like that."

Cynthia pouted, "But I just want you to know how special you are. I'll never insult him again, I promise." Cynthia leaned into Mokuba and tried to kiss him, but Mokuba avoided her lips. In the process, he leaned so far back in his chair that it topped backwards onto the floor. Cynthia landed on top of him. "Hey! Your desk has a lot of space under it. I bet we could do all kinds of things under here."

"Cynthia, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I brought you here to see if Serenity…" Mokuba gulped, "Serenity…"

Cynthia looked down at him with venom in her usually sweet and starry brown eyes, grabbing him roughly by the collar of his school uniform. The ruby pendant on her gold necklace swung off her cleavage and dangled above his neck. He had the ghostly sensation that it was a dagger pointed at his throat and would cut him at any moment.

"SERENITY!" Mokuba screamed desperately.

Just when he thought his life was about to end, Seto and Serenity poked their heads over the edge of his desk and looked down at him. An amused smirk played across Seto's lips, but Serenity looked more worried. "Are you OK? Is somebody hurt?" Serenity asked.

Seto examined the scene. Cynthia was straddling Mokuba, and the tiny denim jean shorts she wore rode several centimeters up her smooth, tanned buttocks. It reminded him of an incident several years ago when Mai Valentine had come into his office demanding payment for testing his virtual reality game, and wound up testing a few other things he owned as well. Unfortunately, she had not come back for a second trial. "Mokuba, next time you orgasm, try to scream the right name," he said to his brother. "Come on Serenity, let's leave these two alone."

"Wait, Seto! Don't go! She's trying to kill me!" Mokuba begged, squirming under his female assailant. Although he could have easily escaped her grasp, he couldn't figure out how to do so without hurting her. He just wanted her to leave him alone.

Cynthia looked up at the two people staring down at her with her big, doe-like brown eyes. "Kill him? I thought he loved me, but it turns out that he was just using me to make Serenity jealous. This worm is unworthy." Cynthia stood up, straightened her shorts, and walked out of the office with her nose in the air.

"I never said that!" Mokuba called after her, but deep inside he knew that it was true.

Seto and Serenity stared at him for a few moments, speechless. Then, Seto put a hand on Serenity's shoulder and said, "I don't have time for this teenage drama. I'm going back to work." Then, he left the room.

Mokuba and Serenity stared at each other awkwardly for a few more moments, and then got back to work on their homework as if the incident had never happened.


	30. Heritage

**Music Lover's Alert: **"Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane, then "Russian Roulette" by Rihanna. Last but not least, "We are the Light of the World" by Jean Greif … also partially inspired by Weird Al's parody "Constipated."

**Chapter 30 Heritage**

"Time's up! Pencils down!" The head TA announced, "Please pass your midterms to the end of the rows where we will collect them."

Joan Saunders double-checked to make sure that she had written her name on her calculus exam, and then accepted her boyfriend's paper as he passed it to her. As it passed through her hands, she happened to glance down to see the name "Timothy Saunders" printed neatly across the top. Until now, she had not realized that she shared the same last name as her boyfriend.

She gasped out loud, "Tímo!"

"What is it?" he asked.

Joan handed her ID card to him. "Did you know?"

Timothy stared at the little piece of plastic. "Holy crap!" Then, he took a deep breath and said, "OK, just relax. I'm sure we can find some genealogy records online. We're probably not _that_ closely related."

"Right. Let's go," Joan agreed.

The two of them made their way outside and set up their laptops in the nearest convenient location. While they waited for their laptops to warm up, they sketched as much as they could remember about the Saunders line of their family trees, and then exchanged papers. For a moment, both of them were too nervous to look. Joan felt her heart pounding madly as she looked into his electric blue eyes. She didn't know if she would be able to take another breath if it turned out that she was too closely related to Tímo to continue the relationship.

Finally, they looked down at the papers before them. Each of them could only remember three generations back, and none of the names matched. Joan breathed a sigh of relief.

"OK, let's take it to the next level," Timothy said. He went to a genealogy website and started typing in the information he had. When all the boxes were full, he hit, "enter" and waited for the website to process the data. He looked at Joan and took a deep breath while they waited.

When the results popped up on the screen, Timothy breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his computer around to face Joan. "John and Kari Saunders: They're the missing link. You're in the sixth generation and I'm in the fifth generation. You and I are perfectly legal."

Joan squealed with joy, threw her arms around him, and kissed him passionately. All of her doubts about the relationship were instantly erased. Timothy kissed her back with equal force, exchanging saliva with her and churning it until it was thoroughly blended.

When they finally came up for air, Joan said, "Hey! I should introduce you to my friends."

"Sounds fun," Timothy said before swooping in for another long kiss.

….

Joan, Jessica, and Sean sat around a small, circular outdoor table. Her other friends were too busy to come, so unfortunately only two of them would get to meet Timothy. While they waited for him, they discussed their secret society.

"Your intuition about Kris was spot-on. That kid really knows how to hack. He set up a corporation to buy that old training facility. He named it Rakitan Industries and set you up as the CEO with a fake identity. You're now Tamara's second cousin, and your name is Kari Rakitan," Jessica explained to Joan.

"Really! Wow! I can't wait to tell Tímo," Joan said with enthusiasm.

Sean leaned forward and spoke to her in a hushed tone. "You can't speak a word of it to him! We don't even know if he's on our side yet."

"Of course he's on our side. You'll see!" Joan said.

Jessica and Sean exchanged worried glances. Then, Jessica asked, "What have you told him so far?"

"Nothing, but he has expressed an interest in changing the world. He just doesn't know the right way to go about doing it yet. He's applying for a few government jobs in addition to graduate school. I think he could make a good double agent for us," Joan said.

Sean's deep chocolate eyes shone with concern. "Joan, we're concerned that you may be a little too infatuated with this guy. You can't judge his character from an objective point of view."

Joan became indignant, "You're kidding, right? Look, I _trust_ Tímo in the same way that Tam trusted you when we first let you in on our secret. _Come on!_ I've seen the way you look at each other."

Sean placed his hand over hers. "Joan, if you need somebody to love, don't take the first guy you met on your fist semester here at the university. Look, I'm here for you. I've always been here for you. Just let me into your heart."

Joan pulled her hand away from his. "And risk my friendship with Tam? _Never!_"

"Joan, things don't have to be like this. Don't throw away everything on one person just because he-"

"-Hi! Sorry I'm late," Timothy said as he joined the group. He gave Joan a quick kiss and sat down beside her. "So, these are your friends, huh?"

"Yes. This is Jessica and this is Sean," Joan replied as she pointed to her two friends.

"Hi there! So, what are your majors?" Timothy asked.

"Studio art," Jessica replied.

Sean leaned away from Timothy and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So, what about you?" Timothy asked Sean awkwardly, "What's your major?"

"What makes you assume that I have a major?" Sean replied darkly.

"Um… I don't know. I don't have a major myself at the moment. So, what do you do?" Timothy said as cheerfully as possible.

"I'm unemployed. I'm a veteran and I'm unemployed," Sean replied.

"Oh," Timothy said, feeling shorter than he already was under the tall soldier's gaze.

"Don't mind Sean. He's just being over-protective of me. He served with my father, and now he thinks he has to take that role in my life or something," Joan said quickly.

Timothy smiled again. "I didn't realize I'd be meeting your family as well as your friends," he joked.

Sean smiled back at him with a challenge in his normally soft and affectionate chocolate eyes. "All right, hot-shot. If you want to date my 'daughter,' you'll have to beat me in a contest first."

"What kind of contest?" Timothy asked.

"Your choice."

Timothy thought for a moment. "Any chance you play Duel Monsters?"

Sean reached into the side pocket of his cargo pants, pulled out his deck, and slapped it on the table.

"Fair enough. Let's duel!" Timothy reached into his book bag and pulled out his own deck. Then, he handed it to Sean to shuffle. "How many life points should we start with?"

"4000. I want to give you a fighting chance," Sean replied coolly as he exchanged decks with Timothy and shuffled.

"Um… could someone please explain to me what is happening?" asked Joan.

"Whoever's life points reach zero first loses. Would you like to keep score for us, darling?" Timothy said, his voice dripping with honey as he glared at Sean.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that." Joan looked nervously from one man to the other, then took out a notebook and a pencil.

The guys exchanged decks again, and each drew five cards. "You first," said Sean.

Timothy drew another card and said, "All right. I set one monster face-down and set another card face-down. Now, let's see what you've got." Timothy set down two cards in front of him. They looked like twin black holes on the table, except that one was placed horizontally and the other was placed vertically so that they sat at right angles to each other.

Sean calmly set a card face-down the same way that Timothy set his monster card down and placed another card face-up on the table. It had three white things that looked like crucifixes to Joan and a bright star in the middle.

"You've to be kidding me," Timothy said as he flipped his monster card face-up. It looked like a weird magician with spikes on its shoulders and a cape. Its head looked like a purple ice cream cone with horns on top.

"What did he do, Tímo?" Joan asked

"Swords of Revealing Light just means that I can't attack with my Illusory Gentleman for three turns, and I have to show him all of my monsters that are currently on the field. It's a really annoying card," Timothy replied.

"So, does it do anything to your life points?" Joan asked.

"No. Don't worry; I have a strategy. I sacrifice my Illusory Gentleman to summon Mefist the Infernal General. When those swords are gone, he'll pack a real punch. That's all for now." Timothy moved the Illusory Gentleman off the field and placed a monster card with 1800 attack points face-up on the field. It was a knight on a horse with a double-edged axe. Both the horse and the knight were covered in black armor.

"That's not going to help you. I place another monster face-down. Go ahead and make your next move," Sean said as he laid another card face-down in front of him.

"Is this guy for real? This game is turning out to be one dull stalemate. Fine. I'll place a monster face-down as well." Timothy set another card down on the field.

Jessica gazed at Timothy with a penetrating stare. Her dark brown eyes seemed to bore into his soul. "Knowing Sean, he has something planned. You might want to hold your tongue and focus on the game instead of shooting off your mouth."

Sean smiled with satisfaction. "Jessica is correct, and you're about to see why." Sean placed a monster card in face-up attack mode on the field, and then flipped the other two cards into attack mode as well. He now had three monsters before him: Oppressed People, People Running About, and United Resistance. The cards had 400, 600, and 1000 attack points, respectively. The cards all looked very dark and chaotic.

Timothy laughed out loud. "Three weak monsters! Seriously?"

"Blessed are they who are meek and humble…" Sean said.

"…They will inherit the earth," Joan finished involuntarily. Technically a modified Bible verse, it was a line from one of her favorite church songs, and she could not resist the urge to complete it. "Wait, where did you learn that phrase, Sean?"

"Same place you did," Sean replied.

"Am I missing something?" Timothy asked.

Sean's eyes twinkled, and he picked a card out of his hand. Sean showed it to Timothy so that he could get a closer look.

"Huge Revolution… This card can only be activated during your Main Phase when 'People Running About', 'Oppressed People', and 'United Resistance' are face-up on your side of the field. Send all cards in your opponent's hand to the Graveyard and destroy all cards your opponent controls on the field," Timothy read out loud, "Damn!"

Sean set the card down on the field to make the play official, and then Timothy sent all of the cards on his field and in his hand aside in the same spot where he had put his Illusory Gentleman. Then, Sean set his Huge Revolution card aside. "I now attack you directly with all three of my monsters," Sean declared.

Timothy sighed. "I just lost 2000 life points. You better write that down, babe."

Joan picked up her pencil and wrote down the new score: Tímo 2000, Sean 4000.

It was Timothy's turn again. He drew a monster card and set it face-down without speaking. Joan started to worry. Her boyfriend was usually more talkative than this. What if he was about to lose? Would Sean really insist on her breaking up with him? Would she have to choose between her best friends and her boyfriend?

Sean took his turn. "I sacrifice Oppressed People and People Running About for Wingweaver." He moved the two cards off the field to where his Huge Revolution card lay and placed a beautiful woman in a yellow dress with six blue wings and 2750 attack points on the field. "Now, I attack your face-down monster with United Resistance."

"Bad move," Timothy said darkly. He revealed his face-down card, which was Wall of Illusion. The card pictured what appeared to be a purple face with bright red hair in the middle of an animal skin wall stretched over a yellowed bone frame. The monster had 1850 defense points as well as a special ability. Any monster that attacked it had to be sent back to the owner's hand! Also, since it had 850 more defense points than the attack points of United Resistance, Sean's life points dropped to 3150. Timothy told Joan this, and she recorded it.

"Well played," Sean admitted as he picked up United Resistance and put it back in his hand. "Now, I attack with Wingweaver."

"You realize this means that Wingweaver also goes back to your hand?" Timothy said smugly.

"Yes, but it also leaves you with no monsters on the field."

"Fair enough," Timothy said as he sent his monster to the graveyard and Sean put his monster back in his hand.

"So, does anyone lose life points?" Joan asked.

"Not this time," Timothy replied. He drew a card and immediately exclaimed, "Yes! Pot of Greed!" He set the card, which featured a fat green pot with a giant toothy grin, on the field and drew two more cards. Then, he sent Pot of Greed to the graveyard and placed a monster face-up on the field. The monster on the card had a creepy red face with troll-like hair. Half of its hair was white and the other half was black. It had huge blue shoulder guards with gold trim and a long, ragged red cape. From its claw-like fingers, several silvery strings extended down to two zombie-like monsters who seemed to be mere puppets for the creature. Timothy said proudly, "I summon Chaos Necromancer. He gets 300 attack points for every monster in my graveyard. Thanks to your little revolution, I have eight. That gives him 2400 attack points. I also equip him with Axe of Despair, which gives him another 1000 attack points. That's more than enough to wipe out the rest of your life points." Timothy placed a card which featured a massive axe with a red halo on the table and sat back in his chair with a smirk on his face.

Joan double-checked the numbers on her paper. "Wow Tímo! You did it!" Joan threw her arms around Timothy and kissed him enthusiastically.

Sean stood up and tapped Joan on the shoulder. "Joan, I need to talk with you for a moment."

Joan drew herself away from Timothy reluctantly, stood up, and walked a few paces away from the table with Sean. "What's the deal? He beat you, didn't he?" Joan hissed.

"Yes he did, but there's something not right about him. I don't think we should tell him about our underground movement. He's obviously not on our page," Sean whispered.

"What! That's ridiculous! Of course he's on our page. He's a good person." Joan looked back at Timothy briefly and gave him a little wave.

"You're infatuated, Joan. You're overlooking all of his faults. I hate to break it to you, but it's rather obvious. If you ask Jessica, she'll say the same thing."

"Are you jealous?" Joan asked.

"I'm just worried about you. He's your first boyfriend, so I'll cut you a break, but just be careful, OK?" Sean cautioned.

"OK." Joan then put on a big smile and raced back to the table. She jumped into Timothy's lap and threw her arms around his neck. She then watched as Timothy picked up his cards and put his deck back together. When he picked up the cards in his graveyard, Joan noticed that there were only seven monster cards rather than eight. _He lied for me!_ "Tímo?" Joan said hesitantly.

"What?" he asked.

"Thank you," Joan replied simply. She realized that Sean was probably right about keeping their organization secret from him, but that did not change how she felt about him.

**Closing Note:** So, I photoshopped together an image for the cover of this story. I think it is pretty whatever, so if anyone wants to come up with something better for me, I would love to see it! I would also prefer to have characters on the cover. Anyway, let's make it an open contest. I'll write the winner(s) a Yu-Gi-Oh! or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX oneshot of their choice with any characters, an OC if desired, and any matching.

Also, check out my facebook writer profile to see some virtual avatars of my OCs and some of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters done in Sailor Moon style. Just search K5Rakitan and you'll find me :)


	31. Poison

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Mercy Mercy Me" by Marvin Gaye

**Chapter 31 Poison**

"Remember: no teeth. If you bite it, you're dead," Joey cautioned Mai.

"Mrymgmrrr," Mai replied with a pout as she looked up at Joey's intense brown eyes with her exotic violet ones.

Mai lay on the Wheeler couch with a thick blanket over her body and a thermometer in her mouth. Her ordinarily thick and curly blond hair was plastered to her scalp with sweat.

"OK. That should be long enough," Serenity said as she took the thermometer out of Mai's mouth and examined the thin column of mercury inside.

"What's the prognosis, doc?" Mai asked, her voice weak and scratchy.

"You definitely have a fever," Serenity answered, "It's not too bad, though. If you take some acetaminophen, you'll probably feel better for a little while. Hey Joey, do we have any acetaminophen in the medicine cabinet?"

"I'll check." Joey left the room briefly, and then came back with his arms full of plastic bottles. "I wasn't sure what to get, so I brought everything," he said.

Joey dumped all of the bottles onto the coffee table and Serenity started looking through them. She finally found a bottle labeled "Acetaminophen 500mg." However, instead of opening it right away, she took a closer look at the bottle.

"Joey! We can't use this. It's expired," Serenity said, "I'll go get more."

"That's OK, hun. I'll be fine without it," Mai said with a cough.

"No way, Mai. I'm not going to sit here and watch you be miserable all day. I'll go get it," Joey said.

"Here Joey, take the old bottle with you so you know what to get," Serenity said as she handed Joey the white plastic bottle.

"Don't move until I get back," Joey said to Mai. He knelt down and gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading out the door.

"Drive safely," Mai said weakly.

Joey got into his old car and started up the engine. It purred happily as he drove out to Domino's mall. Joey cared for his car very well, keeping it perfectly tuned at all times. As he drove, he spoke to his car. "It's just you and me now, baby. Guess what? We've got the opportunity we've been waiting for! I'm going to get Mai a ring, and you'll be the first to see it."

Joey parked his car in Domino Mall's parking lot, and then reached under the seat of his car. There, he had an envelope stuffed with cash that he had been saving little-by-little since he got his job. It wasn't the safest place to keep it, but luckily no thieves had discovered Joey's lack of common sense. He took the envelope and stuffed it in the pocket of his jacket, then walked into the mall. He headed straight for the jewelry store where Mai worked and walked up to a young girl with smooth black hair who stood behind the counter. Joey put an elbow on the counter and grinned at her with all of his teeth showing.

"May I help you?" the girl asked.

"How well do you know Mai Valentine?" Joey asked.

"Quite well. Why?" the girl asked suspiciously.

"I was wondering if you could help me pick out a ring for her."

The girl gasped. "Oh my God! You're Joey, aren't you?"

"That's my name!" The blond man replied, his grin widening.

"Oh my God! Mai has been wondering when you would pop the question like, forever! We've been ogling the engagement rings together for months. I can totally tell you what she wants." The girl led Joey over to a counter that housed exclusively diamond rings. The girl unlocked the case and pulled out one of the rings. It had a huge diamond in the middle, and the silver setting had a design that resembled peacock feathers. "Mai loves this one."

Joey looked at the price tag and took a deep breath. "I hope I have enough money for it." He took the envelope out of his pocket and started counting bills. They made quite a pretty stack, but he only had half of the required amount. "Um… is there anything smaller that Mai likes almost as much as this one?"

The girl put the ring back in the case and thought for a while. "Well, she likes flying creatures in general. It doesn't seem like a proper engagement ring to me, but she has been eyeing this one ring…" She locked the case of diamond rings and led Joey over to a case full of many different, colorful rings. She unlocked it and pulled out a gold ring shaped like a dragon holding its tail. In the dragon's eye glittered a tiny diamond.

Joey looked at the price tag and found it much more reasonable. "Do you think she'll go for this?" he asked.

"If not, you can blame it on me," the girl replied with a light-hearted smile. "Don't worry about it too much. Mai knows you can't afford the biggest ring in the store. This one is only ¼ carat, but it is still a real diamond, and the setting is 18 karat gold"

"I have no idea what you just said, but I'll take it. Don't tell Mai yet, though. I want to wait until she fully recovers from her cold and make it really special."

"My lips are sealed," the girl agreed. She rang up Joey's purchase and put it in a nice black velvet box for him.

After Joey left the mall, he went to a pharmacy to get the acetaminophen that Serenity had requested. However, he had a difficult time finding the exact same product. He asked a store clerk for assistance, and the clerk managed to procure a bottle of 750mg acetaminophen instead of the 500mg tablets that had been purchased several years ago.

"Thanks man," Joey said to the clerk, "My sister said to get this stuff and I don't think I could have found it without you. She's studying to be a nurse, so I'm pretty sure she knows what she is talking about."

"I'm glad to hear that your sister is studying to be a nurse. Medicines are changing so rapidly that most people can't make sense of them anymore. Some of them have really weird side-effects, too. People often buy a new drug from me and then come back for another one to treat their new problems," the clerk told him.

Joey blinked. "But this good-old stuff still works, right?"

"Oh yeah," the clerk said dismissively, "The company that makes it is just changing the bottle to confuse people. It does have some side-effects if you take too much, so just cut the pills to get the dose you want."

"Um… Yeah, I think I'll let my sister do that part. Thanks, though," Joey said as he bought the pills. They cost more than he expected, but since he had some money left over from the ring and both items were for Mai, he used some of the extra money in his pocket to make up the difference.

He could not quite place his finger on what it was, but there was something different about the world since Japan had given up its sovereignty for peace. It wasn't just one thing; it was a bunch of little things that didn't seem right. However, nobody addressed the problem head-on. It was as if they were all waiting for _somebody else_ to make the first move, but that somebody else had already made the first move and failed. At least, that's how the situation appeared to most people.

**Closing Note:** Just so you know, I decided against writing the details of the proposal because this fic centers on Serenity and Seto more than it does on Joey and Mai. Plus, there will be a wedding chapter, so I figured that will give them enough attention. However, if any of you want to write the proposal within the context of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy", you are welcome to do so.


	32. Penguin

**Music Lover's Alert:** "I'll Make a Man out of You" from Mulan.

**Chapter 32 Penguin**

Sean Carson paced the hard dirt ground just behind the old military facility that now bore the name of Rakitan Industries. His red hair was trimmed close to his scalp and he wore his old green army uniform. Despite the fact that he was no longer employed by the Japanese Army, which had disbanded, his uniform was still good to wear and he saw no point in spending money on new clothes. Likewise, his comrades dressed in their old uniforms. Together, Sean and Tamara had gathered two dozen willing individuals to join them in their pursuit of justice. Among them were the heteropaternal twins and Jessica's younger brother Trevor.

Tam stood in front of the group slightly off to one side while Sean paced. She wore a black turtleneck sweater and black spandex pants. Her dirty blond hair was drawn back in a braid and her hard, lean muscles were prepared for action. Behind her lay an assortment of wooden and metal structures that had been carefully arranged by her and Sean.

"What we are asking you to do will take agility and stealth as well as strength. This obstacle course is designed to help you all develop those traits. Tamara Rakitan will demonstrate how to run this one, and then you'll get your chance. Any questions before we begin?"

Trevor raised his hand. He had soft black hair like his sister, and gorgeous emerald eyes. "What if we trip or something?"

"You'll learn to do it better next time," Sean replied.

Kris took off his glasses and raised them into the air. "What if we have special needs?"

Sean let out a somewhat exasperated sound. "Look, some of you are obviously not going to be on the front lines, but just humor me for now. A little exercise increases blood flow to the brain and improves overall health. Now, let's get started. Tam, are you ready?"

Tam nodded, and then sprang into action. She ran towards a hurdle and leaped over it with the grace of an elk. Immediately afterwards, she ducked under a low-hanging horizontal plank and dodged several vertical ones as she worked her way through the maze of equipment. Then, she came to a mountain of driftwood that had been nailed together. She climbed over it skillfully, using her arms as well as her legs for support. When she got to the other side, she walked over a thin plank of wood, keeping her balance effortlessly.

Then, Tam came to a pile of rocks. She picked up one and threw it to a target about five meters away. The rock hit it slightly off-center, so she picked up another one and threw it. The second one hit the target, and Tam picked up another one to throw. She kept throwing rocks until five of them hit the target. Then, she ran to the target, picked up the rocks, and ran them back to the pile before continuing to the next obstacle.

"When you get to this part of the course, make sure that nobody is in your way before throwing rocks. This is a training exercise, not a race. We don't want anybody getting hurt," Sean commented.

Tam continued to run the obstacle course while Sean provided commentary. After ten minutes, she completed the course and trotted back to Sean's side. "So, who wants to go first?" she asked deviously.

Everyone was silent for a moment. The heteropaternal twins looked at each other and nodded. "We'll go," they said in unison. They took a running start at the first hurdle and cleared it easily, then started on the rest of the course. Due to their massive builds, they had some trouble in certain areas, but made up for it by assisting each other in the tight spots.

"What are their names again?" Tam asked Sean as she admired their teamwork.

"I forgot. Everyone just called them Salt and Pepper when they were in the army," Sean said.

"Cool! So they already have code names!" Katie said enthusiastically.

Sean laughed. "Enough with the code names already. Look, I don't even want a code name. If I ever go down, I want people to know that there was a real person fighting to free the world."

"Yeah, but-" Katie started.

"-Katie, why don't you start your run on the obstacle course now? Salt and Pepper are far enough ahead that you probably won't catch up to them," Tam said.

"We should call you The Taminator," Katie grumbled.

"Well, if you can complete the course three times today, I'll let you call me that," Tam said as she gave Katie a little push in the direction of the first hurdle. Katie took a run at the hurdle and jumped, but instead of clearing it, she knocked it over and landed on top of it. "I think I broke a nail!" she called back to the group.

"That's OK! Just keep going!" Tam called.

After Katie stood and dusted herself off, Tam sidled up to Jessica's younger brother Trevor. "You're next."

Trevor gulped. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"None of us are. That's why we're doing this in the first place," Joan said bravely. She took a run at the hurdle and crashed into it just like Katie had, but picked herself up with a smile and called back, "Come on! We'll all look foolish together!"

The gathered youths giggled a little, then immediately lined up to take their turn on the obstacle course. No longer did they fear failing. After all, one of the brightest girls among them had just admitted that she was not perfect. One-by-one, the youths joined the fray. They bumped into things and struggled on the driftwood mountain, but all of them managed to complete the obstacle course. At certain points, Sean and Tam spotted people to make sure that they would not hurt themselves too badly. When they finished, everyone, including Salt and Pepper, collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

Sean addressed the group again, "That's enough for today. I want everyone to participate in these training sessions at least once a week. There will be an optional lesson on fencing tomorrow and an introduction to karate the day after that. I realize that most of you can help our cause in other ways, so I don't expect to see all of you there. However, I do expect everyone who fought in the army with me to show up tomorrow. You guys are already in pretty good shape, and we want to keep you that way. All right! Class dismissed!"

Katie looked down at her pale legs. "I think I have a few bruises forming. People are going to ask questions if they see them.

"Oh no!" Joan gasped, examining her arms, "How am I going to explain this to Tímo?"

"Don't. Just keep yourself covered," Jessica suggested.

"I can't. He would notice that I… well," Joan blushed as she tried to think of the best way to complete her sentence.

"You're sleeping with him! Regularly!" Tam asked in awe.

Joan nodded meekly.

"Well, just tell him that you were walking along the street minding your own business when you almost got mugged, but you knew enough self defense to fend him off before he stole anything from you," Jessica said.

"I guess that would work," Joan replied, "but only if you got mugged by the same guy. Tímo knows that you're my friend, so if he sees you with the same bruises, he'll probably ask you as well."

"Good point," Jessica agreed.

The girls sat in a circle and cooked up a story about the mugger together. In the end, his physical description more-or-less matched that of Mark Devlin.

When they got up, Katie walked with funny, short steps on account of her stiff muscles. Tam laughed and said, "I think I have a code name for you!"

"Really?" Katie asked.

"Yeah… Penguin," Tam said thoughtfully.

"You're kidding," Katie said, blinking.

"No, it's perfect for you"

Katie thought for a while. "Well, as long as nobody else knows how I got it, whatever."

**Closing Note:** Please review!

**Challenge Question:** In the next chapter, Serenity is going to ask Seto about the size of one of his organs. What organ is it?

First hint: This organ comes in a pair

Second Hint: almond

Third Hint: Most people never get to see it

Fourth Hint: It is probably not what you are thinking


	33. Questions

**Author's Note: **Nobody guessed the organ correctly, so you'll just have to read to find out what it is.

**Music Lover's Alert:** "Please" by Chris Isaak followed by "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree

**Chapter 33 Questions**

Serenity sat in a comfy holographic chair reading a huge textbook beside Seto's desk. Seto had been experimenting with combining force field technology with his holograms to make them more versatile. So far the results were promising, but Seto was not ready to release this new technology to the public just yet. It was still in the testing phase, and the force field emitters were too bulky for practical use. The device that projected Serenity's chair was almost as big as the chair itself and quite ugly. Wires and computer chips were stuck into it haphazardly from several tinkering sessions.

"Seto, what do you think about getting a dog?" Serenity asked out of the blue.

Seto looked up at her with a somewhat surprised expression on his face. "If you really want a dog, I'll get you one, but I don't see why you would want one."

"It's just that dogs are so smart and they can teach us so much about ourselves. Take Pavlov's dog for instance. Pavlov and his dog showed us how people can be conditioned to respond to certain things instead of doing what comes naturally to them."

"Things like money?" Seto asked, amused.

"Exactly," Serenity said. Then, she went back to reading the textbook. Several minutes later, Serenity asked, "Seto, what do you think about getting a monkey or a chimpanzee?"

"Why, do you want to start a zoo now instead of becoming a nurse?" Seto asked without looking up from his computer.

"No, it's just that primates are even more intelligent than dogs, so we can learn a lot more from them," the auburnette replied.

"So, you want a monkey instead of a dog?"

"Maybe," Serenity replied thoughtfully before returning to her textbook. After several more minutes, she asked, "Seto, what do you think about getting a baby?"

"A baby _what_?" Seto asked, slightly annoyed that she kept disturbing his work.

"Never mind," Serenity said and continued reading. For almost an hour, she was engrossed in her textbook. Then, she looked up again with a light blush on her cheeks. "Seto, how often do you think about coitus?"

Seto looked up at her in alarm. There was a strange look in her olivine eyes, one that he could only remember seeing once before.

-flashback-

Mai Valentine stood with her back to Kaiba. Her long, curly blond hair cascaded over her bare shoulders as she laced up her white corset. "I'm sorry hun, but you'll just have to find some other way of impressing women."

Kaiba regained some of his composure and glared at her with all the fury he could muster. "If you tell anyone about this, you'll never see the light of day again."

-end flashback-

"I try not to think about it," Seto replied.

"Why not?" Serenity asked

-flashback-

Mai finished tying her corset, and then turned towards him. She picked her purple vest off the floor and started putting it on. She ignored his pathetic attempt to regain his dignity, looking down on him with a sympathetic smile. "Don't get me wrong or anything. A man with your condition can still win a girl's heart. It's just not the first thing you should show her. She might forgive your shortcoming if she finds out about it after she's already in love with you. Just don't expect her to stick around if she barely knows you."

-end flashback-

"I'm saving myself for marriage," Seto said quickly.

"Did you know that regular coitus can relieve stress, boost the immune system, and reduce your risk of prostate cancer?" Serenity said cheerfully.

"No," Seto replied.

"Did you know that autoerotic activities can provide many of the same benefits of coitus?" Serenity asked.

"No, but I'll keep that in mind," Seto replied.

"However, it can also be addicting. Both processes induce a release of oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin is good for you in moderate quantities, but too much of it can cause you to become dependent on it."

Seto looked at her with a smirk. "OK Nurse Wheeler. How often should I masturbate?"

"The book isn't really clear on that, but from what I've read, I deduce that once or twice a week would be enough, and I think it would be OK if you did it daily, but five times a day or more would probably be too much," Serenity replied.

"How often do you masturbate, Nurse Wheeler?" Seto said with a low, playful growl.

"Serenity blushed deeply. "Um… not enough."

Seto chucked and went back to work, but Serenity continued to look at him for a few moments. He was just so handsome and confident, not to mention smart. She could have intelligent conversations with him in a way that she never could with Tristan.

Serenity went back to reading her textbook. After a few more minutes, she asked, "Seto, how big is your-"

"-What are you reading!" Seto asked in alarm before she could finish her question.

Serenity blinked in confusion from his sudden outburst. "Introduction to Psychobiology. It's mostly about our brains. It is a good compliment to all of the medical textbooks I have been reading lately. I was just curious about your amygdala. It's the fear center of the brain. I was thinking that you probably have a really small one."

"Why would you think that?" asked Seto suspiciously.

"It's just that you're always so confident. It's like you're not afraid of anything. It's a good thing," Serenity added hastily.

Seto breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you think it's a good thing, but my amygdala is probably not as small as you think it is."

Serenity's olivine eyes widened. "Really? You mean you're actually afraid of something?

"Of course I am. I would be a fool not be afraid of anything," Seto said with an icy edge in his voice.

"What is it?" Serenity asked softly.

Seto looked straight into his girlfriend's eyes with the sharpest, most intimidating gaze he could muster. However, she looked right back at him with unwavering compassion. He instantly knew that he could trust her, and that she would never divulge his secrets to anyone. "I fear a lot of things. First and foremost, I fear for the safety of my brother. We live in a dangerous world, and people are always trying to kidnap him so that they can gain control of my company. I have implemented several measures to keep him safe, but it never seems like enough. He is growing up now, and I can't monitor him constantly. He resents it when I interfere too much in his life."

Serenity nodded solemnly. "What else?"

"Bakura and all of the other CEOs who have banded around him. They could blast my whole corporation to dust in an instant if they suspected that I would oppose them."

"Would you?" Serenity asked.

"If I knew of some way to do it without putting Mokuba in harm's way, I would," Seto replied firmly, then shifted his electric blue eyes away from her to stare at the wall of his office in silent contemplation.

Serenity got up from the holographic chair and knelt by his side. She took both of his large hands between her small, delicate ones and said, "Seto, I love you."

Her soft touch and warm words brought him back to reality. He returned her gesture with a slow, gentle kiss and said, "Serenity, I love you, too."

**Closing Note:** Whoa, what happened to make Seto feel that way about sex? If you are interested in the full story, it is "Seto's Sticky Situation." Although the excerpts used here were T, the story itself is rated M, just so you know.

Also, I want to extend a special thanks to my new friend Dale DeBakcsy for making the new cover for me. He also writes a great web comic known as Frederick the Great: A Most Lamentable Comedy Breaching Time and Space. So, go look it up!

Of course, new artwork is always welcome and anyone who does artwork for any of my stories gets a one shot!

Please Review!


	34. Side Effects

**Music Lover's Alert: **"Your Biggest Mistake" by Ellie Goulding and "Sumthin' wicked this way comes" by TLC, depending on your music preferences.

**Chapter 34 Side Effects**

Timothy Saunders sat in a Stellar Defense medical office with the sleeve of his white polo shirt rolled up, exposing his left shoulder. A man in a white lab coat and latex gloves inserted a syringe into Timothy's lean arm and discharged its contents into his bloodstream. "All right, Mr. Saunders. That's the final injection. If you experience any side effects, please report back to me immediately."

"When can I start work?" Timothy asked after the doctor discarded the syringe.

"We will give you your first assignment in three months. Until then, you should spend as much time with your friends and family as possible."

"Why?" Timothy asked.

The doctor looked away from the young man as he took off his latex gloves. "You'll be working the night shift, so you'll have to sleep during the day. That might make it _very_ difficult to spend time with them."

"Is there a chance that I could get promoted to the day shift if I do a good job?" Timothy asked as he rolled down his sleeve and put on his jacket.

"No," the doctor replied solemnly, still avoiding eye contact with him.

Timothy bit his lower lip. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and he could not discern whether it was from the doctor's strange behavior or a side effect of the injection. "Um… can I go home now?"

"Yes, but first you must sign this contract," the doctor said. He took a clipboard with a thick stack of paper off the counter and thrust it at Timothy.

"What does it say?" Timothy asked as he took the clipboard and glanced down at the long paragraphs full of convoluted language.

"It says you are not to tell anyone that you work for this particular division of Stellar Defense. If anyone asks you what you do for a living, you tell that you are a full-time night security guard for Tokyo's capitol building."

Timothy gave the doctor a confused look. "Why would the capitol building need a night guard? I thought it wasn't being used anymore."

"Exactly. It's part of your job to assure people that it will be used again soon."

"Fair enough," Timothy replied. Then, he signed the paperwork, went home, and made love to his girlfriend.

-three weeks later-

Joan held a tiny strip of paper in her trembling hand. "Tímo, it's positive. What are we going to do?"

It was late in the evening, and Timothy was visiting Joan in her dorm room. Her roommate Tam was out taking an evening jog with Sean, and they were alone. The room was lit by a small green lamp with brass trim on Joan's desk, casting a soft glow over the room. A thin gauzy curtain decorated the window, displaying the teeming night life of Tokyo outside. Blinds could be drawn for privacy, but they did not offer much protection from the sunlight in the mornings.

Timothy sat on her narrow bed with his head in his hands and mumbled, "I don't know."

Joan sat down beside him and tried to cuddle up to him, but his body was rigid as steel. She reached out to touch his hands instead, but found them ice-cold. She gasped and drew back from him. "Tímo? Are you all right?"

Timothy looked up at her, trying not to notice her gorgeous blue eyes with gold flecks, her vibrantly pink lips, or the enticing vein in her neck that pumped blood into her magnificent brain. "I'm fine. I'm just worried about the baby."

"We could always give it up for adoption. I mean, it will probably have a better life with someone else. Someone with more money…"

"No! We can't give it up for adoption!" Timothy snapped with sudden alarm in his voice.

Joan blinked. "Why not?"

For a moment, Timothy stared at her freely. She had so much life in her. Unconsciously, he started moving closer to her. She was so tempting… _No!_ He drew back from her again and focused on looking at her without giving into his desires. Her lips trembled slightly as if she was hurt by his rejection, but she did not say anything. Timothy's mind raced to find words that would make her feel better. Finally, he said, "I got a job."

Joan smiled. "Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to wait until after I got my first paycheck," Timothy replied pathetically.

"Do you think it will it be enough?"

"Yes, it will."

Joan looked at him with a slight blush on her cheeks. "So… should we get married now or what?"

Timothy leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should we? We already have the same last name."

A chill ran down Joan's spine. Why was he suddenly acting so distant? "Um… maybe we could get some tax benefits or something. We don't need to decide now. Why don't you stay the night here with me and we'll talk more about it in the morning."

"Can't," Timothy replied.

"Why not?" asked Joan.

"Your curtains… I just can't, OK?"

Joan looked at him with an expression of deep hurt on her face. She could not figure out why Tímo was acting so strangely. _Curtains?_ Was that some sort of derogatory reference to her genitalia? "Tímo…"

Timothy gulped. He was so thirsty. He knew that if he stayed with her one more minute, he would do something that he would regret for eternity. "I have an early morning. I've gotta go. Bye!" Timothy bolted off the bed and out the door before she could say another word. As he fled from her dormitory, he made a mental note to himself to eat breakfast _before_ visiting her again.

-Four Days Later-

Joan pressed the speed dial button for Timothy on her phone. She had tried to reach him earlier in the day, but there was no answer. She could not help but worry. This time, he picked up the phone. It was only 5:30pm, but he sounded groggy as if he had just woken. "Hi Joan. What's happening?" he said.

"Did you get my message?" she asked.

"No"

"Well, I wanted to know if you felt like going out to lunch with me, but I guess it's a little late for that. Have you had dinner yet?"

"Um… I can't"

Joan paused. Her heart thumped so loudly that Timothy could hear it over the phone.

Timothy's stomach growled. "Hey, why don't we meet at the library around 10:00 and study for a while?"

"Tímo, you know I have class at 10:00 tomorrow."

"I was talking about 10:00 _tonight_," Timothy clarified.

-Four Hours Later-

Joan was about to head out the door and go to the library when Timothy Saunders showed up on her doorstep. Joan gasped with surprise when she saw him. "Tímo! I thought we were going to meet at the library."

He looked stronger and more confident than he did before. His hair was neatly combed, his complexion was clean, and he wore a simple pair of black jeans with a black T-shirt. "You didn't think I was going to let you go there by yourself this late, did you? Remember that time you almost got mugged?" Timothy replied in a cheerful tone.

Joan smiled back at him. Maybe things would be OK after all. "I'll probably be the one protecting you. I hear that muggers are looking for short, skinny guys who have not taken self-defense classes," she joked.

Timothy had in fact received the best instruction in martial arts from Stellar Defense, but he decided not to reveal that information. "Fair enough. Shall we?" he said as he offered her his arm.

Joan took it, and the two of them started walking towards the library. Things between them seemed almost normal again. However, there was still something different about Timothy that Joan could not discern. She thought that it was her fault. With the hormonal changes that facilitated the growth of the form inside her, she figured that she was over-reacting to insignificant changes in Timothy's behavior. Unfortunately, she was wrong.

**Closing Note:** Mai and Joey are going to get married in the next chapter! Guess who Tea's date will be! Hint: Not an OC. It's also not Mokuba. That part comes much later.


	35. Woman of the Wind

**Music Lover's Alert: "**Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. This is an in-chapter song rather than just background music, so you might want to hold off on playing it until you see lyrics. I know I'm not supposed to do that, but I couldn't resist!

**Chapter 35 Woman of the Wind**

Mai stood at the alter of Our Lady of Faith Church wearing an elegant purple and white strapless dress and holding a bouquet of snowy white roses. Her long golden hair coiled around her head underneath a silver tiara with large amethyst stones that matched her vibrant violet eyes. A few curly locks fell down beside her face. Serenity stood beside Mai wearing the dusty pink dress that Seto had bought her two years ago. She had curled her auburn hair with an iron so that the style matched Mai's.

On the other side of the church stood Joey Wheeler wearing a simple black tuxedo and Yugi Moto clad in the same. Between them stood an elderly priest with white hair and stooped shoulders. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," he wheezed.

Joey leaned towards Mai and gave her a very long, sensual kiss while their friends and family clapped and cheered. Then, they all broke to go to the reception. It was held in the church's annex, so the group did not have far to walk. Joey carried Mai all the way there. While working as a mechanic, his shoulders had gotten much broader and firmer, and he enjoyed showing off his strength to the guests as much as Mai loved being in his arms.

The annex was smaller than the church's basement and easier to decorate, so it suited the group very well. It was set up with a disco ball, and silver glitter covered pretty much every horizontal surface in the room from tables to the floor. The food was already laid out when they got there, and all of the guests immediately started munching on the buffet items. Yugi, who had flown back to Japan for Joey's wedding, stood nervously by the punch bowl while Tea approached him wearing a yellow strapless tango dress and a pair of Schroeder Corporation dance shoes that had been dyed to match.

"So, where's your wife?" Tea asked shyly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Tea, there's something I need to tell you; something I couldn't say over the phone," Yugi began.

"What is it?"

"Ishizu stayed at home because she is guarding the millennium items. We got married to protect them."

Tea gasped. "What!? Why couldn't you tell me that over the phone? Yugi, I wish you'd told me sooner. If I had known, I wouldn't have-"

"Zere you are, my fine fraulein," a voice behind her said. A man in a purple suit with lots of ruffles and pink hair slipped his arm around Tea's waist. "My my, if it isn't herr Moto. How is ze king of games doing?"

"Zigfried von Schroeder!? You're Tea's date?" Yugi asked, surprised.

"Vhy yes. I spotted her at the ballet and thought Vhat a lovely commercial she could make for my new line of dance shoes. She agreed to do the commercial for me on the condition that I accompany her to zis vedding," Zigfried replied before giving Tea a quick peck on the lips.

Yugi stared at Tea for a moment and said, "Well, that sounds cool. I hope you two have a good time."

"Oh, ve vill," Zigfried said before he whisked Tea away from Yugi. Tea looked back at Yugi with an apologetic glance while Zigfried took her to mingle with the other guests. Zigfried walked up to Seto, who was seated with Serenity and Mokuba at a table. Although Seto and Joey were still on pretty good terms, they generally avoided talking to each other out of fear that their old rivalries would resurface. "Herr Kaiba, fancy meeting you here!"

Seto grunted.

Tea frowned. "Kaiba, why are you so stuck-up all the time? Zigfried was trying to be friendly!"

Mokuba looked at Tea and shrugged.

"It's all right, dear. Let's leave zese losers and find another table." Zigfried pulled Tea away from the group and went to an empty table.

Tea went with him, but deep inside her something hurt. Plus, her feet were not feeling especially comfortable in the Schroeder Corporation shoes. She regretted taking Zigfried as a date and missing her chance to dance with Yugi, Mokuba, or any of the other many available men at Joey's wedding. There was a shortage of women at the reception, and since she already had a date who would not let her out of his sight, her options were limited.

The sound of a knife tapping on a wine glass drew everyone's attention to the front of the room. Yugi was standing up at the table of honor leaning one elbow on a seated Joey. Even with Joey's support, Yugi was having a hard time keeping his balance and appeared to be quite inebriated. His words slurred together as he spoke. "As Joey's best man, I would like to congratulate him on his bravery in marrying for love. In three years, his marital satisfaction will most likely peak and then start declining. At least, that's what the statistics say, but Joey has always been a lucky man. He uses luck in his duels, and most of the time it serves him well, except for all those times when I beat him. So, with any luck, he'll still be happy with his wife by the time I start being happy with mine. You see, I married my wife because fate… fate predicted…" Yugi's head bobbed as he tried to finish his sentence, but instead he fell asleep on Joey's arm.

Joey laughed nervously. "Well, thank you, Yugi. I never expected my best man to give such a… an unusual speech."

Mai's parents hauled Yugi's unconscious body off Joey while the guests went back to talking. Then, Mai's mother tapped her wine glass with her knife. She was a stately middle-aged woman with flowing blond hair and sharp blue eyes. She wore a sparkly blue halter dress that showed off how well she had kept her figure over the years. "Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to say how happy I am that Mai finally found someone to love. Bill and I were worried for a while that she would never find the right guy to marry. Nobody was good enough for her until she met Joey. Then, she decided that she wasn't good enough for him and had to spend a few years 'finding herself.' Well, I'm glad that they finally got it all worked out because it's about time. Now, as is the tradition in our family, we will hold the father-daughter dance as the first dance."

The guests cheered as Bill Valentine stood up, took Mai's hand, and walked her to the dance floor. He was a very tall man with short light brown hair and violet eyes like Mai's. He wore a black tuxedo with a purple tie that complimented his eyes and Mai's amethyst-encrusted tiara. Mai's mother slipped a CD into the church's sound system, and the music began.

_Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night  
>And wouldn't you love to love her?<br>Takes through the sky like a bird in flight  
>And who will be her lover?<em>

_All your life you've never seen a woman  
>Taken by the wind<br>Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?  
>Will you ever win?<em>

Bill twirled Mai around the dance floor. The guests watched in awe as Mai danced to the music in her wedding dress. The dress had two long slits in it that made it easy for her to move, and on occasion the garter on her thigh revealed itself to everyone watching.

_She is like a cat in the dark_

_And then she is the darkness_

_She rules her life like a fine skylark_

_And when the sky is starless_

_All your life you've never seen a woman_

_Taken by the wind_

_Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?_

_Will you ever win? Will you ever win?_

Since Joey's mother was not present, Mai's mother led him onto the dance floor to join the fun. Mrs. Valentine moved just as gracefully as her daughter, and drew quite a bit of attention from the guests as she executed several moved on Joey that most women her age would not dare attempt.

_Taken by, taken by the sky  
>Taken by, taken by the sky<br>Taken by, taken by the sky_

_Dreams unwind  
>Love's a state of mind<br>Dreams unwind  
>Love's a state of mind<em>

Bill let go of Mai and let her dance with Joey while he danced with his wife. The guests clapped again, then started joining the two couples on the dance floor. Tea and Zigfried were without a doubt the best dancers at the party, but Serenity and Seto held their own as well.

After a few songs, Seto noticed that Mokuba was still sitting down at the table all by himself looking glum. Seto stopped dancing with Serenity and led her over to Mokuba. "What's wrong, Mokuba?" Seto asked.

"There's nobody here for me to dance with. All the girls brought dates," Mokuba said with a sigh.

Seto looked and the dancing crowd and realized that Mokuba was right. Mai and Joey had a few female cousins at the wedding, but they were all paired off with a man. "In that case, why don't you dance with Serenity?"

Mokuba blushed, and hoped desperately that his brother could not see it under the dim, pulsating lights of the room. "But she's _your_ date!"

"Nonsense. You're sitting here bored out of your skull. Now go dance," Seto insisted.

"But then you'll be bored," Mokuba protested.

"No I won't. I brought my laptop," Seto replied, "seriously, go dance."

"Um… OK," Mokuba finally agreed.

Mokuba stood up and Seto nudged Serenity into him. Serenity blushed as she felt Mokuba's firm hands grip her waist. It struck her as very strange that Seto would want her to dance with his little brother, but she could not argue under the circumstances. Mokuba looked so sad sitting in the corner all by himself, and Seto seemed to prefer working over attending a long reception for a ceremony that already consumed a lot of time that he would have otherwise spent working.

As Serenity and Mokuba danced, she came to appreciate how well he moved. Since Mokuba exercised a lot more than his brother, he had more stamina and was able to surprise Serenity with a few great moves that she had only seen on television. After a few fast songs, Serenity felt a pair of eyes watching her and turned her head to see Tea. Although she was dancing with Zigfried, her eyes were glued on Mokuba.

Serenity leaned into Mokuba's ear and whispered, "Hey Mokuba, I think Tea wants to dance with you."

"Mokuba whispered back, "I know, but if I danced with her then you would have to dance with Zigfried."

"So?"

"So that would make Seto really pissed."

"He let me dance with you," Serenity pointed out.

"Yeah, but he trust me. Zigfried is a jerk. He keeps women under his thumb until they get sick of him. Besides, I'll get another chance to dance with Tea someday after she's through with that creep," Mokuba replied.

Serenity and Mokuba continued to dance, but Serenity still felt Tea watching her and Mokuba. The music eventually faded away and Mai's mother announced, "Would all the unmarried ladies please step forward?"

Serenity stepped into the middle of the dance floor while all the men stood back. Tea limped up to join her. The shoes that her date had made her wear were killing her. Mai faced them, and then turned around so that her back was facing them. She then threw her bouquet backwards over her head. Tea made a dive for it, but it landed in Serenity's hands. The crowd cheered and Serenity blushed. She knew that catching the bouquet meant that she would be the next one to get married, but she felt that Tea should have been the one to catch it. After all, she was older.

Next, Bill Valentine called all the bachelors forward. Mokuba and Zigfried stepped forward along with a few other gentlemen, but Seto kept typing on his laptop. Mai sat down in a chair, and Joey took the garter off her thigh. Several cat calls issued forth from the observers as he did so. Joey turned his back on the young men and held the garter over his head. He stretched it between the index finger on his right hand and the index finger on his left hand and let it fly. The garter sailed over Zigfried's head and past Mokuba. Mokuba made a dive for it and slid on his stomach like a baseball player, but it was of no use. The garter landed on Seto's laptop and Mokuba landed at Seto's feet.

Seto picked the garter off his keyboard and dangled it in front of Mokuba. "Did you want this?" he asked.

"I did, but it's yours now," Mokuba said as he picked himself up and dusted off the silver glitter he had picked up from the floor.

Seto held the lacy loop of elastic between his index finger and thumb as if it was a dead rat. "What would I want with this?"

Serenity approached him holding Mai's bouquet. "It means that we're the next people to in this room who are going to get married."

Seto's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

"It's quite simple, really. I caught the bouquet and you caught the garter," Serenity replied.

Everyone looked at Seto expectantly. He never believed in silly superstitions like these, but he bit his tongue and decided to work with the situation instead. He reached into his laptop bag and said, "I was going to save this for later, but now is as good a time as any." He took out a tiny black box, got down on one knee, and said, "Serenity Wheeler, will you marry me?" He snapped the box open, revealing a gorgeous yet delicate diamond ring.

Serenity gasped and replied, "Oh Seto! Of course I'll marry you!"

All of the wedding guests cheered and clapped. Even Joey, who still harbored a few dormant grudges towards Seto, clapped. After all, Seto Kaiba had saved Serenity's life, and that was a debt that Joey felt he could never repay. Out of all the people in the world, he had chosen only her and Mokuba to harbor in a safe location during the great upheaval of all world governments that had touched the lives of everyone in the room.

**Closing Note: **There will be one more chapter after this, and then it's on to Rakitan Industries! The final chapter of this will be an OC chapter. However, the first chapter of Rakitan Industries will be Seto and Serenity's wedding. I have the first chapter up now if you're interested! Also, Mai's wedding dress is on my Facebook writer profile. It isn't precisely the same as the one I described here, but pretty close.

For those of you who remember Father John, he'll appear in Rakitan Industries. I just wanted to reinforce the fact that he is a young priest by making the old one at Our Lady of Faith retire first.


	36. The End of the Beginning

**Music Lover's Alert: "**I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" by The Magnetic Fields and "Swords & Knives" by Tears for Fears. I realize that "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" is really a gay song, but I still love it!

**Warning:** Labor, brief um... If Grapes of Wrath bothered you... maybe not the chapter you want to be reading.

**Chapter 36 The End of the Beginning**

Jessica, Sean, Joan, Katie, Tam, and Kris stood around a giant circular object covered in a king-sized sheet in the middle of one of the rooms in the abandoned military facility that had been converted into Rakitan Industries. Joan was so pregnant that it was difficult for her to walk, and she held her stomach as she stood with her friends. Jessica held a corner of the sheet that covered the object as she declared proudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the great meeting table."

Jessica pulled the sheet away to reveal a massive oak table that she had crafted herself. Evenly spaced around the table were twenty four small, recessed circles that indicated places for a person to sit. Five of the circles were filled with heavy enameled medallions while the others were left empty. One medallion featured a computer and a book with several lines of binary code in the background. Another medallion featured a paintbrush with a palette of colors and a blank canvas. The middle medallion was a lot simpler than the others. It depicted a sideways eight, the universal symbol for infinity. Another medallion showed a red-headed man and a blonde fencing. The last medallion showed several musical notes surrounding a microphone.

"What's with all the pretty pictures?" Tam asked.

Jessica smiled proudly. "Joan and I were talking about the organizational structure of our group, which still needs a name by the way, and we decided that we could work most efficiently by focusing on our talents." Jessica brushed her fingers over the medallion with the computer. "For example: this will be the symbol for our information team. Kris, since you have already proven your skills with information technology, we would like you to lead the information team. Adam has already volunteered to work with you, and you can recruit more team members at any time."

The young man with long, sandy hair nodded solemnly. "I am honored."

Jessica touched the medallion with the art supplies. "This is for our creativity team, which my brother Trevor and I will run." Jessica slid her fingers over the sideways eight and rested them on the fencing people. "This is for our action team, which will carry out tasks contrived my team and Kris's team. Sean and Tam, you get to run this team along with Salt and Pepper."

Sean and Tam gave each other a high five.

Jessica slid her fingers to the medallion with the microphone and musical notes. "Katie, this one is for you. After our missions are completed, we would like you to make some public statements in case anyone has any doubt about why we did what we did. Since you are the best singer and public speaker here, we would like you to do it for us."

The bottle blonde smirked. "Sounds fun. What about the one in the middle?"

"That is for-"

"-Ahh!" Joan screamed as pain jolted through her abdomen. She keeled over for a moment, then looked back up to see everyone staring at her.

"Was that what I think it was?" asked Kris.

"I'm not sure what else it could be," the auburnette replied.

"Does anyone here know a good midwife?" Sean asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"I can find one online," Kris offered.

"Wait! Tímo said that I should go to the hospital when the baby arrives," Joan said.

"Why would you do a thing like that? Is there something wrong with the baby?" Kris asked, already playing with his smart phone.

Joan hesitated. "I don't think so, but Tímo said that since my mother died in childbirth, I should go to a hospital instead of getting a midwife."

Tam shuddered a little. "He has a point there."

Joan let out another scream as she experienced another contraction, and Sean scooped her up bridal-style. "I'm driving," he declared.

Sean carried Joan out to his car and gently set her in the front seat. Tam and Kris jumped in the back seat while Katie and Jessica wished them all good luck. Kris used his smart phone to find directions to the nearest hospital and navigated while Sean drove.

"Where are we going?" Joan asked between contractions.

"Just relax. We'll get you there," Tam assured her.

"I need to call Tímo. He-ahh!" Joan screamed as another wave of pain shot through her body.

"We're going to University of Tokyo Hospital. It is one of the best in Japan," Kris explained.

As soon as Joan recovered from her contraction, she speed-dialed Timothy Saunders. His phone was off and went straight to his voicemail, so Joan left a message: "Tímo! It's time! I'll be at University of Tokyo Hospital. Come as fast as you can. I love you!"

After Joan hung up the phone, Sean shook his head and sighed, but Joan pretended not to notice. Despite the fact that Timothy had been spending less and less time with her, Joan quickly excused his absence as a desire to perform well in his job as a night guard so that he could earn more money to support her and the baby. However, Sean saw something that she did not see.

When they arrived at the hospital, they went straight to the birthing ward. As she yelled and screamed, the nurses stuck needles in her, alternating between Pitocin and epidurals in an attempt to reach a balance that should have come naturally to her. A few hours later, she was still laboring in an attempt to push out the thing inside of her.

Timothy Saunders arrived at the hospital about half an hour after sunset. When he got there, he saw a blond girl he had never met standing with Sean and another guy who looked vaguely familiar by Joan's bedside. "Hi Sean. Let me guess… Mara Rakitan?" he asked the blond girl.

Tamara shot daggers at him with her amber eyes. _How dare he assume that he can use a nickname for me? Nobody even calls me that!_ Joan might not be angry at him, but Tam was pissed enough for both of them. "Let me guess… Mr. Doesn't-Give-A-Crap Saunders."

Timothy whispered something to one of the nurses, and then stood in a corner of the room staring silently at the young woman in labor without blinking. Sean and Kris glared at him with the same unblinking gaze he used on Joan, but he did not seem to notice.

One of the nurses noticed a dark blue object emerging from the panting woman on the table. She ran to collect it. As she did, she shielded it from the other observers with her body. When at last it was free from Joan's body, the nurse yanked the lifeless object away from her. Joan looked up and saw a tiny blue-black object shaped like a baby with shriveled arms and legs. The nurse quickly covered the item that she was holding with a cloth and whisked it out of the room. She did not bother to close the door behind her, and Joan stared at the empty hallway for several moments.

Tam grabbed Joan's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, hoping to bring her back to reality. Joan looked at Timothy, who stood stiffly in the corner of the room. Her gold-flecked eyes met his pure ones for only an instant. Then, he turned away from her and walked out of the room without uttering a word.

"What was _that_ about?" Sean said to himself.

"Tímo just needs some time to cope. He'll be back," Joan insisted.

Kris took off his glasses and pulled a stool up close to Joan's hospital bed. "I don't think so, Joan. There was always something wrong about him, and it has been getting worse rather than better."

Sean reached over and stroked Joan's matted dark auburn hair. "We know you're going to hold onto the hope of seeing him again as long as possible, but don't let that get in the way of the rest of your life. We're here for you _now_, and we have a job to do. The world needs you to hold it together. You've been through worse than this before."

Joan looked up at her three friends. Several different drugs still coursed through her veins, and their faces swam before her eyes. "New rule," she said.

Tam, Sean and Kris leaned in closer to hear what she had to say.

"If we're going to save the world, we can't have any more distractions. So, tell everyone at Rakitan Industries to dump their girlfriends and ditch their guys. Even the ones within the organization. It's not safe for us to keep romantic attachments of any sort. We're going to…" before Joan could finish her sentence, she drifted off to sleep.

Sean and Tam exchanged worried glances. They knew that the other members of their organization would not take a prohibition on all romantic relationships well. They were not even sure they could keep their hands off each other. However, if that was what they had to do to save the world, then they would just have to try their best.

**Closing Note: **Hospital births are for Westerners and/or rich people, so I decided to include that discussion in this chapter. If you are in the mood to watch a documentary on the subject, I recommend "The Business of Being Born."

And it was the best democracy money could buy


End file.
